25 Aug 2020

Juan Vila, President of the Latin American Table Tennis Union (LATTU) and member of the ITTF Board of Directors, has been appointed as Vice-Minister of Sports of the Dominican Republic.

“I feel extremely honoured to be able to serve the sporting family of the Dominican Republic.” – Juan Vila, Vice-Minister of Sports of the Dominican Republic

A proud man of sport and Dominican Republic national, Juan Vila has taken on the position of Vice-Minister of Sports of the Dominican Republic, parallel to his role as LATTU President. Vila will be one of four Vice-Ministers of Sports, overseeing the northern region of the country.

Vila has been President of LATTU since 2015 and was re-elected in 2019. During his presidency to date, he registered LATTU as an official entity and was actively involved in creating the Pan American Confederation in June 2019.

Vila has helped to drive the growth of table tennis across the region. Not only has the region developed a number of exciting talents in recent years, but has staged increasingly impressive events, not least the Universal ITTF Pan American Cup, held in 2019 and 2020, which set a very high benchmark in terms of the commercialisation and professionalisation of table tennis events even on a global level.

As a former player, Vila was a top Caribbean player in the 1970s, winning gold in the team event at the 1979 Pan American Games in Puerto Rico.

Juan Vila (right) officially handed his new role, pictured with Radhames Espinal (left), Director of Sports in the northern region of the Dominican Republic.
General News Dominican Republic Juan Vila