Castilla y León declares twelve high-level athletes via extraordinary route

The Regional Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport of the Junta de Castilla y León has declared 12 high-level athletes from the community as such through an extraordinary procedure for the year 2026. This is established by Order CYT/886/2026, dated September 9, published in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León number 179, dated September 15, 2026, on pages 65 to 67.

This is the second extraordinary declaration procedure held in 2026, a mechanism that allows for the recognition of athletes outside the ordinary timeframe when their triumphs in the current year may bring them immediate benefits. The order, signed by the regional minister José Alberto Díaz Pico, exhausts the administrative route.

Regulatory Framework and Processing

The declaration is based on Article 37 of Decree 51/2005, dated June 30, on sporting activity, which regulates the extraordinary recognition procedure. The legal basis is completed by Law 3/2019, dated February 25, on Sport in Castilla y León, and by orders CYT/483/2010 and CYT/1115/2010, which establish the technical-sporting requirements and the composition of the evaluation commission.

The High-Level Sport Evaluation Commission of Castilla y León met on September 3, 2026, to study the applications based on results obtained during the year 2026, analyzing the merits presented and recording their proposals in the minutes.

The Recognized Athletes

Annex I of the order lists the 12 athletes, all of them in the “athlete” group, distributed across three sports federations of Castilla y León:

• Football (7): Aitor Blanco Pascual, Raúl Hernández Sánchez, Pablo Juárez Quintana, Rodrigo Leal Hidalgo, Hugo Pinto López, Mario Soto García, and Aitor Viñuela Sacristán.
• Skating (3): Bruno Goilón Sanz, Aimar López Miguel, and Isabel Luengo Maté.
• Rugby (2): Hernando Calleja Besada and Ángel Concejo Casas.

Appeals and Deadlines

Against the order, which exhausts the administrative route, interested parties may optionally file a request for reversal within one month before the head of the Regional Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport, in accordance with Articles 123 and 124 of Law 39/2015. Alternatively, a contentious-administrative appeal may be filed before the Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Castilla y León within two months, according to Law 29/1998. Both deadlines are counted from the day following the publication of the order in the gazette.

Recognition as a high-level athlete represents significant institutional support for these 12 athletes, who will be able to access the benefits associated with this status within the framework of promoting sport in the community, in collaboration with the sports federations.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla y León, no. 179, September 15, 2026, section I.D (Other Provisions), pp. 65-67 (official reference: BOCYL-D-15092026-179-18).