José Manuel Franco: “sport will be a decisive and valuable tool towards a change in the economic model and a more cohesive knowledge society”
- The new president of the CSD has stressed that to achieve this “the only possible method is that of dialogue, understanding and collaboration between all sectors”
- Among the main objectives of this new phase, Franco has pointed out digitization, the ecological transition, the promotion of internationalization, the revitalization of women’s sport, as well as achieving legal certainty with a new Sports and Anti-Doping Law
- The Minister of Culture and Sport, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, thanked the work done during this last year by the former Secretary of State for Sport, Irene Lozano, at the same time that he wished Franco the best in the face of “the large number of exciting projects” that lie ahead
Madrid, March 31, 2021. The new Secretary of State for Sport and President of the Higher Sports Council, José Manuel Franco, has today taken office at the head of this body in an act that has taken place in the facilities of the CSD and in which, among others, the Minister of Culture and Sport, José Manuel Uribes, and his predecessor, Irene Lozano, have been present.
During his speech, Franco emphasized the “tasks” and “challenges” that sport has ahead of it, as well as the “transcendence” that it has for society. In this sense, it has valued the importance of sports activity as “a decisive and valuable tool towards a change of the economic model and a more cohesive knowledge society”. “Sport is a strategic axis for Spain, an essential tool for the promotion of the country brand. In addition, it is essential for the lives of many citizens. That is why we must be able to manage European funds with rigour, speed and efficiency in order to reactivate the activity of sport based on new innovative and sustainable criteria”, he added.
The President of the Council has also indicated the main objectives that he will face in the coming months. Digitalization, the ecological transition, the promotion of internationalization, the revitalization of women’s sports, as well as achieving legal certainty with a new Sports and Anti-Doping Law, are some of them. “To face these challenges, there is only one method of work: dialogue, understanding and collaboration with all sectors. We are all needed to face what lies ahead of us,” he said.
The Minister of Culture and Sport, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, also spoke at the event. He began his remarks by thanking Franco’s predecessor, Irene Lozano, for her work during the last year “very difficult” for everyone and “in which the work done has been excellent”. On the new stage that has begun today, Uribes highlighted “the large number of exciting projects” ahead, for which Franco “has an enormous political experience and a magnificent management experience, something fundamental for dialogue and negotiation.”
CV by José Manuel Franco
Nacido en A Pobra do Brollón el 8 de septiembre de 1957. Married. A daughter. He holds a law degree and a career civil servant in the Ministry of Defence.
He is in possession of the Cross of the Order of Military Merit, with a third class white badge since 1993.
In 1995 he was elected Member of the Madrid Assembly, where he served as Spokesman in the Committee on Employment, Spokesman in the Committee on Transport,
Chairman of the Committee on Budgets, Secretary-General, Spokesman, Deputy Spokesman for the Socialist Parliamentary Group.
In 2017 he was elected Secretary General of the PSOE-M in the primary, a position he currently holds.
In 2019 he is elected national deputy for Madrid in the Congress of Deputies and appointed Chairman of the Committee on Education and Professional Training, Member of the Permanent Deputation, Member of the Defence Committee, Member of the Interior Committee and alternate member of the Spanish Delegation to the NATO Assembly. In 2020 he is appointed Government Delegate in the Community of Madrid, according to Royal Decree 329/202, published in the BOE on February 12, 2020.
