Vice Ministry of Sport appoints financial delegate to the Esmeraldas Federation

The Vice-Ministry of Sport appointed technologist Maritza Alexandra Vilaña Morales as Financial Delegate of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture to the Board of Directors of the Provincial Sports Federation of Esmeraldas. The decision is contained in Resolution No. MINEDEC-VD-2026-0201-R, signed on July 15, 2026, and published in Official Registry No. 386 on Thursday, October 8, 2026, in the resolutions section of the Executive Branch. The same administrative act nullifies the previous appointment and establishes the functions, prohibitions, and terms of validity of the position.

The regulatory framework of the appointment

The resolution is based on Article 108 of the Organic Law of Sport, Physical Education and Recreation, published in the Sixth Supplement of Official Registry No. 223 on February 11, 2026, which mandates that the boards of provincial federations include three delegated officials from the governing body, specialized in financial and technical matters. Article 109 of the same law specifies that these delegates cannot be elected as presidents nor exercise the legal representation of the federation.

The General Regulation of that law, issued via Executive Decree No. 422 on June 12, 2026, develops this figure in Articles 165 to 168 and established in its Fifth Transitory Provision a maximum period of thirty days, counted from its publication, for the governing body to appoint new specialized delegates. The authority to issue these resolutions was delegated to the Vice-Minister of Sport by numeral 47 of Article 3 of Ministerial Agreement No. MINEDEC-MINEDEC-2026-00041-A of May 15, 2026.

The Vice-Minister of Sport, Roberto Xavier Ibáñez Romero, was appointed via Personnel Action No. 2987 on November 24, 2025, by Minister Gilda Natalia Alcívar García, who was in turn appointed by Executive Decree No. 224 on November 18, 2025. The Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture absorbed the defunct Ministry of Sport by Decree No. 100 on August 15, 2025.

Functions and limits of the position

Technologist Vilaña Morales, holder of citizenship ID No. 1712385713, must fulfill five express functions:

• Ensure compliance with the guidelines issued by the governing body of sports.
• Promptly alert the governing body about situations that may affect athletes or the functioning of the sports organization and its affiliates, to avoid inactivity, intervention, or sanctions.
• Comply with the regulations related to Article 56 of the Organic Law of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation.
• Inform the delegator about the decisions and activities carried out in the exercise of their appointment.
• Notify the Directorates of Formative Sports, Supervision and Defense of Sports, and Sports Affairs of any temporary or permanent absence from Board sessions.

Article 4 of the instrument prohibits the delegate from being elected president or exercising the legal representation of the federation, sub-delegating their status as a member of the Board, assuming operational functions outside their appointment, or intervening in matters with a conflict of interest. Article 3 obliges them to maintain the requirements of Article 167 of the Regulations throughout the term of office.

Replacement, validity, and monitoring

The Sole Derogatory Provision removes and nullifies the appointment of engineer Martha María Ramírez Yánez, ID No. 0802264374, as financial delegate to the same board, conferred through Resolution No. MD-DM-2024-1226-R of July 29, 2024, by the then Ministry of Sport.

The appointment is effective from the notification of the resolution and remains in force until the governing body arranges for their replacement or removal, or until the delegate loses their status as an official of the State portfolio. Article 5 clarifies that the exercise of the position does not generate additional remuneration, an employment relationship, or a contractual link with the Provincial Sports Federation of Esmeraldas. The final provisions entrust the monitoring to the Directorate of Formative Sports in coordination with the Directorate of Supervision and Defense of Sports, order the notification of the previous and new delegate and the legal representative of the federation, and mandate the publication of the act on the institutional website and in the Official Registry.

The same Official Registry No. 386 publishes two other resolutions from the Vice-Ministry of Sport: No. MINEDEC-VD-2026-0202-R, which extends for 90 days the intervention of the Cantonal Sports League of Rioverde due to the failure to resolve the vacancy in its legal representation, and No. MINEDEC-VD-2026-0204-R, which grants legal personality and approves the statutes of the “El Semillero” Specialized Formative Sports Club.

The appointment reinforces the governing body’s control over the public resources managed by provincial federations, within a context of delegate renewal required by the new sports regulations. For Esmeraldas, it implies that the financial management of its federation will be under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture, with the authority to alert regarding intervention risks and the possibility of removal at any time at the will of the State portfolio.

Source: Official Registry No. 386, Thursday, October 8, 2026, Executive Branch – Resolutions, p. 2 (official reference: Resolution No. MINEDEC-VD-2026-0201-R).