Valencia chairwoman Layhoon Chan has become the first foreigner to join the board of the Spanish football federation (RFEF).
Chan is a long-time close associate of Valencia owner Peter Lim, and was appointed as Mestalla chief following the Singapore businessman's purchase of the La Liga outfit in 2014, becoming the first woman to head the club in their 96-year history.
Despite not being a Spanish speaker, the 52-year-old Singapore native has now accepted an offer from RFEF president Angel Maria Villar to join the federation's board, in news confirmed by statements from both the RFEF and Valencia.
La presidenta del @ValenciaCF se incorpora a la Junta Directiva de la @RFEF https://t.co/srf11a0UJZ
- RFEF (@rfef) August 2, 2016
"Valencia CF chairwoman Layhoon Chan has become a board director of the Spanish football federation (RFEF) after being offered the position by RFEF president Angel Maria Villar at a recent institutional meeting," the Valencia club statement said.
Last month Chan attended the draw for the 2016-17 La Liga fixtures at the RFEF headquarters in Las Rozas outside Madrid, where she spoke in English to the attending delegates.
Before joining Valencia, Chan had served in senior roles with various companies in sectors across food and beverage, lifestyle, security, media and investment in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia, according to Bloomberg. She retains a senior role in Lim's Hong Kong-based Meriton Capital investment group, which has been involved in buying 'third-party' rights of players who have joined Valencia.
In May 2005, Chan presented a partnership between Valencia and UN Women in support of gender equality across the globe.
The RFEF's board assists the association's top officials in making decisions, but does not have strict powers of oversight on the federation's daily affairs.
Other current members of the board include the presidents of Real Madrid (Florentino Perez), Barcelona (Josep Maria Bartomeu) and Atletico Madrid (Enrique Cerezo). The large membership also includes Joan Gaspart (Barca chief from 2000-2003) and Manuel Llorente, who was Valencia president from 2009-2014.