Royal Spanish Football Federation

Stage Front Announces Landmark Partnership with the Royal Spanish Football Federation as Official Global Event and Hospitality Partner of the Spanish National Team

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, December 28, 2023

COLUMBIA, Md., Dec. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stage Front, a leading technology global events and hospitality company, proudly announces its groundbreaking partnership with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (Real Federación Española de Fútbol) as the Official Global Event and Hospitality Partner of the National Team.

Key Points: 
  • COLUMBIA, Md., Dec. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stage Front, a leading technology global events and hospitality company, proudly announces its groundbreaking partnership with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (Real Federación Española de Fútbol) as the Official Global Event and Hospitality Partner of the National Team.
  • Karl Roes, the CEO of Stage Front, expressed his excitement about the partnership, stating, "We are thrilled to join forces with the Royal Spanish Football Federation in this historic venture.
  • We look forward to creating unforgettable moments for fans and elevating the global profile of the Absolute National Team."
  • The Royal Spanish Football Federation also shared their enthusiasm for the partnership.

Soccer kiss scandal exposes how structural sexism in Spain can be a laughing matter

Retrieved on: 
Friday, September 29, 2023

He is also under investigation by prosecutors in Spain for sexual assault and coercion.

Key Points: 
  • He is also under investigation by prosecutors in Spain for sexual assault and coercion.
  • As scholars of Iberian cultures and gender representation, we know that humor, much like soccer, is a national pastime in Spain.
  • Moreover, Rubiales’ forced kiss of Jenni Hermoso, a member of Spain’s World Cup-winning team, provided a perfect example of the role that comedy can play in unmasking and highlighting structural sexism.

The humor of incongruity

    • Humor is a social act that reflects human experience and, more to the point here, human folly.
    • In “Punchlines: The Case for Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Humor,” social psychologist Leon Rappoport explains that, among other reasons, we laugh at incongruity.
    • Humor is employed, Rappoport observes, to shed light on something “clearly absurd or contradictory.” This appears to be the basis of much of the laughter in the Rubiales case.
    • Much of the humor poked fun at Rubiales directly.

A sexist laughingstock

    • But the humor in this case helped amplify public debate and inspired action to confront structural sexism in Spain and beyond.
    • In the sketch, two women impersonate Rubiales and Hermoso and stage the kiss, as recounted by Rubiales in his public appearance before the RFEF’s general assembly.
    • Instead, he defended his “peck” as consensual and positioned himself against both “false feminism” and gender inclusive language.
    • Furthermore, the mismatch of his male voice and the two female bodies in the video points at the pervasive silencing of women and sexist double standards.
    • None of these humorous responses to the scandal diminish the seriousness of the Rubiales incident, nor the debate they sparked.

For Rubiales, #itsover

    • For good reason, the hashtag #seacabó – translating to #itsover – has continued to trend since the scandal, after the term was directed at Rubiales by Spanish soccer star Alexia Putellas.
    • It has allowed Spain, and inspired others, to confront discriminatory practices within and beyond the soccer field.

World Cup kiss: feminist progress is always met with backlash, but Spain's #MeToo moment shows things are changing

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 31, 2023

Spain is now one of only two teams who are world champions in both the male and female competitions (Germany is the other).

Key Points: 
  • Spain is now one of only two teams who are world champions in both the male and female competitions (Germany is the other).
  • In a society where feminist progress has historically been met with backlash, it shows how far Spanish society has come to reject rancid machismo instantaneously.
  • Read more:
    Luis Rubiales: these seven tactics made his speech excusing his assault on Jenni Hermoso a textbook case in silencing women

Machismo, on and off the pitch

    • The kiss was not the only moment of such machismo that this team has had to contend with.
    • In the autumn of 2022, 15 players demanded better working conditions, because they feared for their physical and mental health.
    • These legitimate concerns made in private were leaked to the press and spun as a revolt of spoilt, female brats against the head coach Jorge Vilda.

Backlash to progress

    • While there was slow but steady progress for women’s rights in the 1980s and 1990s, it was not until the administration of José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (2004-2011) that progress accelerated, and the longstanding machismo culture began to face a real challenge.
    • Two landmark legislative changes were made to combat gender violence in 2004 and progress gender equality in 2007.
    • The most recent new legislation, passed in October 2022, strengthens criminal charges for sexual aggression, among other advancements for women’s rights.
    • Even during the dictatorship in the 1960s, the slightest progress for female rights was perceived as a danger to a male-dominated society.

Solidarity

    • Female and male feminists from all walks of life took to the streets demonstrating in Spanish cities, showing Rubiales the red card.
    • An editorial in El País is brutally frank in its judgement of this powerful man who has behaved like a textbook perpetrator.
    • No country can control its lunatics, but how it deals with them is a sign of its maturity.

Luis Rubiales: these seven tactics made his speech excusing his assault on Jenni Hermoso a textbook case in silencing women

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 31, 2023

Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso, one of the players, without her consent and made rude gestures in the stands while watching the match.

Key Points: 
  • Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso, one of the players, without her consent and made rude gestures in the stands while watching the match.
  • Despite criticism of his behaviour, Rubiales has refused to resign, defending himself in a lengthy and at times bizarre speech.
  • These were all on show when Rubiales took to the floor – from the most subtle to the most aggressive.

1. Denial

    • The first tactic is denial.
    • This includes rejecting the idea that any problem even exists and denying the legitimacy of any case for change.
    • Denial is a very common element of resistance to gender equality.

2. Disavowal

    • In this context, disavowal amounts to refusing to recognise responsibility for addressing a problem or instigating change to address it.
    • Rubiales’s speech was made at a special meeting of the federation, called in order for him to explain himself.

3. Inaction

    • Inaction is a refusal to implement change, and here too, Rubiales played it by the book.
    • While rumours about his resignation were floating around since the previous evening, he made clear that it wouldn’t happen.

4. Appropriation

    • Appropriation can involve simulating change while covertly undermining it.
    • This was in evidence during Rubiales because he did at one point apologise “unreservedly”.

5. Cooptation

    • When people use progressive language to maintain unequal structures and practices, it is called cooptation.
    • Other frequently used words were hunt, assassination, pressure and suffering – but always in reference to himself and those who support him.
    • “Claims of male victimisation and reverse discrimination are also common elements in resistance,” according to Flood, Dragiewicz and Pease.
    • “Many men feel under threat from feminism and draw attention to what they see as forms of male disadvantage,” say Flood, Dragiewicz and Pease.
    • Demanding responsibility for what happened, in his view, is “false feminism”, which is “the great scourge of this country”.

6. Repression


    Rubiales’s surprise refusal to resign is an example of repression, in that he was reversing the process of change. By the time he got up to speak, it was widely accepted that the appropriate thing to do would be to resign. Yet he pushed back against the tide.

7. Violence

    • The use of violence, harassment and abuse against subordinate groups is key to pushing back against the forces of change.
    • For Rubiales, aggression against someone he considers subordinate is nothing more than a paternalic kiss – a gesture without desire.

#Seacabó

    • In response to his statements, Spanish female national team players and, later, many other sportsmen and women took a stand against such behaviour.
    • The speech that Rubiales wanted to make in self-defence became a spark that ignited a movement, led by the hashtag #seacabó – “it’s over”.

Vinícius Júnior: how Spanish law is starting to tackle racism and what else it could do

Retrieved on: 
Monday, July 10, 2023

There are also continuing allegations of racist abuse in Spanish football.

Key Points: 
  • There are also continuing allegations of racist abuse in Spanish football.
  • Spain of course is not the only country where football is plagued by racism.

Legal sanctions

    • Yet La Liga, which has now reportedly lodged ten complaints against fans, regarding racism experienced by Vinícius Júnior, cannot impose sanctions itself.
    • But very few such administrative sanctions are proposed and fewer still are actually imposed.
    • According to the Commission against Violence and Racism in Sports, in 2021-22, administrative sanctions were proposed for 1,608 spectators and 59 clubs.
    • This latter figure represents a considerable increase from 2018-19, when only three sanctions linked to racism and xenophobia were proposed.

Denial of racism

    • Anti-racism charity SOS Racismo has shown racism to be present in all areas of Spanish life.
    • To deal with racism within football, Spain could look for inspiration from initiatives including the Europe-wide Fare network and the Feyenoord is for All campaign in the Netherlands.
    • Legal sanctions are not preventing racism in football.
    • And racism is not limited to pitches and stadiums.

Vinícius Júnior: how Spanish law is starting to tackle racism on and off the football pitch

Retrieved on: 
Friday, July 7, 2023

There are also continuing allegations of racist abuse in Spanish football.

Key Points: 
  • There are also continuing allegations of racist abuse in Spanish football.
  • Spain of course is not the only country where football is plagued by racism.

Legal sanctions

    • Yet La Liga, which has now reportedly lodged ten complaints against fans, regarding racism experienced by Vinícius Júnior, cannot impose sanctions itself.
    • But very few such administrative sanctions are proposed and fewer still are actually imposed.
    • According to the Commission against Violence and Racism in Sports, in 2021-22, administrative sanctions were proposed for 1,608 spectators and 59 clubs.
    • This latter figure represents a considerable increase from 2018-19, when only three sanctions linked to racism and xenophobia were proposed.

Denial of racism

    • Anti-racism charity SOS Racismo has shown racism to be present in all areas of Spanish life.
    • To deal with racism within football, Spain could look for inspiration from initiatives including the European Commission’s Fight Against Racism campaign in collaboration with Uefa and the Feyenoord is for All campaign in the Netherlands.
    • Legal sanctions are not preventing racism in football.
    • And racism is not limited to pitches and stadiums.

Vinícius Júnior shows Spanish law is not doing enough to tackle racism on and off the football pitch

Retrieved on: 
Friday, July 7, 2023

There are also continuing allegations of racist abuse in Spanish football.

Key Points: 
  • There are also continuing allegations of racist abuse in Spanish football.
  • Spain of course is not the only country where football is plagued by racism.

Legal sanctions

    • Yet La Liga, which has now reportedly lodged ten complaints against fans, regarding racism experienced by Vinícius Júnior, cannot impose sanctions itself.
    • It is up to the Spanish Commission against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sports to propose administrative sanctions and the Spanish Football Federation to then impose any.
    • According to the Commission against Violence and Racism in Sports, in 2021-22, administrative sanctions were proposed for 1,608 spectators and 59 clubs.
    • This latter figure represents a considerable increase from 2018-19, when only three sanctions linked to racism and xenophobia were proposed.

Denial of racism

    • Anti-racism charity SOS Racismo has shown racism to be present in all areas of Spanish life.
    • To deal with racism within football, Spain could look for inspiration from initiatives including the European Commission’s Fight Against Racism campaign in collaboration with Uefa and the Feyenoord is for All campaign in the Netherlands.
    • Legal sanctions are not preventing racism in football.
    • And racism is not limited to pitches and stadiums.

Vinícius Júnior shows EU law is not doing enough to tackle racism on and off the football pitch

Retrieved on: 
Friday, July 7, 2023

There are also continuing allegations of racist abuse in Spanish football.

Key Points: 
  • There are also continuing allegations of racist abuse in Spanish football.
  • Spain of course is not the only country where football is plagued by racism.

Legal sanctions

    • Yet La Liga, which has now reportedly lodged ten complaints against fans, regarding racism experienced by Vinícius Júnior, cannot impose sanctions itself.
    • But very few such administrative sanctions are proposed and fewer still are actually imposed.
    • According to the Commission against Violence and Racism in Sports, in 2021-22, administrative sanctions were proposed for 1,608 spectators and 59 clubs.
    • This latter figure represents a considerable increase from 2018-19, when only three sanctions linked to racism and xenophobia were proposed.

Denial of racism

    • Anti-racism charity SOS Racismo has shown racism to be present in all areas of Spanish life.
    • To deal with racism within football, Spain could look for inspiration from initiatives including the European Commission’s Fight Against Racism campaign in collaboration with Uefa and the Feyenoord is for All campaign in the Netherlands.
    • Legal sanctions are not preventing racism in football.
    • And racism is not limited to pitches and stadiums.

European soccer is having another reckoning over racism – is it time to accept the problem goes beyond bad fans?

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, May 27, 2023

After suffering months of racial abuse on the field and off, Brazilian soccer star Vinícius Júnior had enough.

Key Points: 
  • After suffering months of racial abuse on the field and off, Brazilian soccer star Vinícius Júnior had enough.
  • Racism is normal in La Liga,” he tweeted in reference to the Spanish top division.

Deep roots of soccer racism

    • Indeed, as soccer writer Franklin Foer has pointed out, in the early days of Brazilian soccer Black people were not allowed to play for professional clubs or the national team.
    • While there has been great change since such times, the roots of subtle and overt racism facing Black soccer players run deep – be it in their home countries or playing for prestigious European clubs.

Soccer’s Black Lives Matter moment

    • For example, in England, the Football Association has long partnered with anti-racist group Kick It Out to create programs and punishments for racist fan behavior.
    • Meanwhile, the Royal Spanish Football Association has codes for applying financial penalties against clubs with racist fans.
    • Indeed, after restarting a pandemic-struck season in June 2020, the English Premier League promoted an active Black Lives Matter campaign.
    • This included “Black Lives Matter” patches on uniforms – although patches were later amended to read “No Room for Racism” – and allowing the taking of the knee before games.
    • Soccer leagues in southern Europe tended to leave it to clubs and individuals to respond to the Black Lives Matter movement, rather than having any blanket policies akin to that of the English Football Association.

Counter-cosmopolitanism

    • Continued racism in European soccer comes despite a rise in soccer’s “cosmopolitanism” culture.
    • But modern-day fans have long become accustomed to supporting a racially diverse team.
    • If the racial makeup of teams is not reflective of the fan base, it also isn’t reflected in management, or among the people who govern the sport.

Failing the Sterling standard

    • Moreover, it does little to address more institutionalized racism in the game.
    • And to date, anti-racism programs and fines have failed to stamp out racism in soccer.

TCL Reaffirms its commitment to sports through a series of high-level new partnerships in Europe, showing its strong ambition in the region

Retrieved on: 
Monday, April 17, 2023

HONG KONG, April 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TCL, the world's Top 2 TV brand[1] and top 1 98-inch TV brand, unveils its local partnerships strategy in Europe with several high-profile sponsorships across multiple markets, to spread its passion for sports and provide fans with exceptional and immersive entertainment experiences. As one of the world's leading consumer electronics companies, TCL is the go-to partner for cheering on sporting events with 2023 Mini LED and QLED TV line up that deliver superior picture quality.

Key Points: 
  • In Spain, TCL is the new premium partner of the The Royal Spanish Football Federation to 2026.
  • In Italy, TCL partners with the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calciodevenant (FIGC) becoming the official partner of the Italian national Football teams to 2026.
  • As the world's second largest TV brand and a pioneer in Mini LED, TCL offers affordable premium technologies and products.
  • The quality of TCL products based on advanced technology has been established: the TCL Mini LED 4K TV 75C935 and TCL Mini LED 4K TV 75C835 were awarded CES® 2023 Innovation Awards.