La Cartuja Stadium welcomes Spain's highest institutional authorities
As usual, the final of the Copa del Rey brought together the country's footballing dignitaries and political representatives.
The executive box at La Cartuja Stadium in Seville was the epicentre of Spanish public and political life this Saturday night, 6 April, on the occasion of the final of the Copa del Rey, presided over by Felipe VI.
Accompanying the monarch, the president of the RFEF Management Commission, Rafa del Amo, received the highest representatives of the autonomous communities of the two finalists: Íñigo Urkullu, the Basque lehendakari, and Margalida Prohens, president of the Government of the Balearic Islands. At the regional level, the host Andalusia was represented by the President of the Junta de Andalucía, Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla.
Among the authorities from the central government, the first vice-president, María Jesús Montero, and the presence of the Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sports, Pilar Alegría, and the Minister for Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, also stood out. The meeting was also attended by the national president of the Partido Popular, Alberto Núñez Feijoo.
The territorial football federations to which Athletic Club and RCD Mallorca belong, of course, also wanted to be present at the event. José Ignacio Gómez Mardones, president of the Biscayan Football Federation, and Pep Sansó, his Balearic counterpart, were accompanied by the president of the Basque Football Federation, Javier Landeta, and, of course, by the presidents of the two clubs: Jon Uriarte for the Bilbao side and Andrew Scott Kholberg for RCD Mallorca.
In addition, other authorities such as the mayors of Bilbao and Palma, Juan Mari Aburto and Jaime Martínez, respectively; members of the Andalusian government, such as the regional minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Arturo Bernal; and institutional representatives from the Basque Country and the Balearic Islands were also present. In the latter case, it is worth highlighting the presence of the President of the Basque Parliament, Bakartxo Tejería, and her Balearic counterpart, Gabriel Antonio Le Senne; or the Deputy General of Biscay, Elixabete Etxanobe, and the President of the Council of Malloca, Llorenç Galmés.
In the run-up to the match, the traditional exchange of commemorative gifts between institutions and finalist teams took place; and, at half-time, Rafa del Amo presented His Majesty Felipe VI with a scale replica of the trophy that bears the monarch's name.
