Salerm Puente Genil has taken a step forward in its aspiration to return to Segunda RFEF. The club's board has agreed to formally request the vacant spot in the league from the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), arguing they hold the best sporting right to it. This decision comes hours after the National Second Instance Committee (CNSI) closed the federative path for the Unión Malacitano project, which also aimed to occupy this position.
The federative body entirely dismissed the appeal filed by Club Deportivo Unión Malacitano SAD against the resolution of the Sole Judge of Non-Professional Competitions, confirming the denial of their inscription in Segunda Federación for the 2026-27 season. The resolution, notified this Wednesday, is based on an alleged fraud of law by the managers of La Unión Atlético, a Murcian club that was promoted and intended to move its project to Málaga. The CNSI considers that legal instruments were used to circumvent the rules governing access and permanence in non-professional competitions, emphasizing that the continuity of legal personality is not sufficient on its own to retain sporting rights when the domicile, name, crest, colors, facilities, and control structure change.
The resolution exhausts the federative route, although it leaves civil jurisdiction open. Meanwhile, Salerm Puente Genil has made its request public, appealing to the RFEF's Competition Regulations, which prioritize the team from the same group with the best sporting classification among those relegated from the previous season. The red-and-black club argues that it was the relegated team from Group 4 with the best result in the 2025-26 season, after Estepona achieved salvation, and believes it has priority to occupy the vacant spot.
In parallel, Salerm Puente Genil has requested the RFEF to reconfigure Groups 3, 4, and 5 based on geographical proximity. The vacant spot belongs to Group 3, which includes teams from Murcia, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands, while Andalusian teams are distributed in Group 4. The club has submitted the request for the vacancy independently, but has also reportedly asked, according to reports, for a restructuring involving teams like Albacete B, Puertollano, Badajoz, and Don Benito.
The uncertainty arrives at a delicate moment for planning. The Andalusian Football Federation has published the calendar for Group 10 of Tercera Federación, which kicks off on September 6 with Salerm included. If the RFEF grants the spot in Segunda RFEF, the calendar would need to be redone, opening a vacancy in Group 10. In Andalusia, the system for filling vacancies grants an additional promotion to the best-placed relegated team. In this case, the beneficiary would be Montilla CF, finalist of the last promotion playoff in División de Honor Sénior.
