FEF. Ecuador’s Vice Minister of Sport, Roberto Ibáñez, said on Monday that the government will look “in depth” at whether Francisco Egas’s new term as president of the Ecuadorian Football Federation breaks the country’s two-term limit before it registers the federation’s new board.

What the vice minister said

“Ecuadorian law establishes that third (consecutive) terms are not allowed, and that is what we want to analyze in depth,” Ibáñez said, according to El Universo. “We are reviewing it very carefully. We have seen some things, and we are going to ask them to send us information.” He added that his personal relationship with football officials should not be mixed up with the decision on registering the board: “You have to keep the two things separate.”

Bolavip reported that Ibáñez made the comments in an interview with journalist Juan Francisco Rueda on Hoy+, and quoted him as saying that the FEF “have their argument, and CONMEBOL and FIFA have their own way of seeing things.”

Why it is in question

Egas, who has led the FEF since 2019, was re-elected on March 17, 2026, for the 2027-2031 term. He was the only registered candidate, El Universo reported, after the federation’s electoral commission did not clear the candidacy of his only rival, Esteban Paz. Ecuador’s Sports Law limits sports leaders to two consecutive terms. The FEF argues that its 2023 statute reform restarted the count, which would make 2027-2031 his second term under the new rules. FIFA and CONMEBOL cleared Egas to run, according to El Universo.

No decision has been taken. Ibáñez has said before that the ministry will review the federation’s file “page by page” once it is submitted, and that Egas’s current term ends in January 2027, when the new board has to be registered.

What it means for La Tri

For now, nothing changes on the pitch. Bolavip pointed out that Egas was the driving force behind the appointment of Marcelo Gallardo, who was presented in September on a four-year contract, and that the contract is already signed. Gallardo’s Ecuador play Costa Rica in Quito on November 13 and Bolivia in Guayaquil on November 17.