Football and Inclusion Shape RFEF President’s Institutional Agenda in the Canary Islands

As the 2025–26 season reaches its climax, last weekend saw the final of the Women’s Spanish Championship–Copa de SM la Reina, turning Gran Canaria into the centre of Spanish football.

For that reason, the RFEF president carried out an intense institutional programme across the Canary Islands, combining sporting commitments with events promoting inclusion and academic development.

On Friday, Rafael Louzán closed the first International Sports Law Congress in Las Palmas, which brought together leading figures from the legal, medical and sporting worlds at the rectorate of the local university. On the same day, representatives of FC Barcelona and Club Atlético de Madrid — finalists in the Copa de la Reina Iberdrola — attended the official dinner organised by the RFEF in the presence of major local authorities.

On Saturday 16 May, the day of the final at the Estadio de Gran Canaria, the RFEF president took part in a tribute to Spain’s pioneering women footballers. He also visited the Sensory Box located inside the stadium, where people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were able to enjoy the final through an initiative supported by the RFEF, the Foundation of the Inter-Island Football Federation of Las Palmas and Autismo España.

Educational and charitable initiatives also played an important role in Louzán’s schedule in Gran Canaria. At the Pepe Dámaso Cultural Centre, he inaugurated the Goals for Hope photography exhibition, which highlights the stories of migrants and how football can serve as a vehicle for social inclusion.

Saturday also saw the RFEF president present the Copa de la Reina trophy to the captain of Barcelona following the club’s triumph. Grassroots football also featured prominently in his institutional duties, as Louzán awarded the Manolo Santana Women’s Football Cup to CD Peña La Amistad and presented UD Las Palmas with the trophy for winning Group VI of the División de Honor Juvenil.

On Sunday, the RFEF president travelled from Gran Canaria to Tenerife to present the trophy recognising CD Tenerife as champions of Group 1 of Primera Federación Versus e-Learning at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López. The title was especially celebrated by Tenerife supporters during the club’s final home match of the season, as Álvaro Cervera’s side secured an immediate return to professional football just one year after relegation.