MADRID, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Athletic Bilbao president Jon Uriarte announced on Tuesday that he has called elections for the club presidency on May 8th.
The elections come just before the official end of Uriarte's four-year mandate, with the 48-year-old confirming he will stand for re-election by the club's 44,000 members.
Uriarte's four seasons at the head of the Basque club saw the club end a 40-year wait to win the Copa del Rey in 2024, while last season the team coached by Ernesto Valverde finished fourth in La Liga to qualify for this season's Champions League.
This season has seen a drop in form, partly due to a long injury list, but with nine matches left in the season, Athletic Bilbao is ninth in the classification with a viable option of qualifying for either the Europa League or the Conference League.
"Midway through the season we had a small crisis of results in which we were in the group down below, but now we are only three points off a place in Europa and our aims have changes," said Uriarte in his press conference at the club's San Mames Stadium.
"I think we have done a great job in the past four years," he added.
So far nobody else has announced an opposition candidacy, so there is a chance that on May 8th, Uriarte will be elected unopposed, but whoever is the next club president, will have to find a replacement for Valverde, who announced last Friday that he is stepping down as coach after four years in his third spell at the club.
