Villar, a former player for Athletic Club Bilbao, was first named RFEF president in 1988, and with yesterday's vote, he will remain as the head of the organization until 2012.

He stood unopposed and received 144 votes from the 165 delegates present with 18 no-votes and three declared void.

"I feel tremendously happy. Some people have said that I could not last such a long time at the head of the organization, but I feel totally satisfied by it and I want to share that satisfaction with the Assembly and Spanish football," he said. "I want to also congratulate those who have been elected to form part of this Assembly."

At times a controversial figure in the game, Villar has not always been popular in some sectors of the Spanish media. But the fact that he oversaw Spain's triumph in the 2008 European Championship, their first triumph in a major competition since 1964, was a huge factor in his favor.