Ministry intervenes in the Ecuadorian Bowling Federation due to lack of leadership

The Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture ordered the intervention of the Ecuadorian Bowling Federation (FEB) for incurring the cause of acephaly (lack of leadership) in the legal representation of the sporting body. The decision is contained in Resolution No. MINEDEC-VD-2026-0045-R, signed on February 25, 2026, by the Vice Minister of Sport, Roberto Xavier Ibáñez Romero, and published in Supplement No. 370 of the Official Registry on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, page 47.

The intervention is based on literal a) of article 165 of the Law of Sport, Physical Education and Recreation, which empowers the Sectoral Ministry to intervene in a sporting body in the event of acephaly in its legal representation. The measure is adopted by express delegation of the highest authority of the portfolio, Minister Gilda Natalia Alcívar García, in accordance with Ministerial Agreements MINEDEC-MINEDEC-2025-00056-A and MINEDEC-MINEDEC-2026-00013-A.

The mass resignation of the board

On February 7, 2026, the then president of the FEB, María Alexandra Kubes Robalino, submitted her resignation, which was sent to the Vice Ministry of Sport on February 9. Days later, on February 13, the vice president, the treasurer, and the principal and alternate members also resigned from their executive positions.

According to the report from the Directorate of Sporting Affairs, as no executives remained with the statutory authority to substitute, the federation entered a state of organic paralysis that constituted acephaly. The report also confirmed that the FEB receives public current expenditure funds from the Ministry, which prompted the intervention to safeguard the transferred resources.

The interventor and their functions

The resolution appoints Master Mario Guillermo Lemos Bayas, with citizenship ID No. 1707106009, as the interventor, who will legally, judicially, and extrajudicially represent the federation. The interventor will have the same functions and competencies as the president and the legal representative for the duration of their term, including:

• Convening and directing General Assemblies and granting approval for the organization’s acts and contracts.
• Monitoring the use of funds in accordance with the budgets and annual planning.
• Controlling accounts, budget execution, accounting, and financial statements.
• Admitting or denying the affiliation of sporting organizations and athletes.
• Appointing an administrator for the body if necessary and presenting management reports.

Term and scope of the measure

The receiver shall have a period of 90 days to remedy the cause that prompted the intervention, in accordance with the law and the Substitute Regulation to the General Regulation of the Sports Law. The resolution clarifies that the measure does not constitute a sanction, but rather an exceptional and temporary administrative action aimed at guaranteeing institutional continuity and transparency in management.

Once a new board of directors is elected and registered with the Ministry, the intervention shall cease to have effect and the position of the receiver shall be extinguished. The resolution was notified to the undersecretariats and directorates of the Ministry, the Ecuadorian Olympic Committee, and the former members of the federation’s board.

The intervention of the FEB reflects state control over sports organizations that receive public funds, within a context of regulatory transition following the merger of the Ministry of Sport into the new Ministry of Education, Sport, and Culture. For athletes and affiliated clubs, the measure seeks to restore the administrative and sporting normality of the federation, safeguarding their rights and the continuity of national and international competitions.

Source: Official Registry of Ecuador, Supplement No. 370, September 16, 2026, Executive Branch section, p. 47 (official reference: Resolution No. MINEDEC-VD-2026-0045-R).