ZURICH (AP) — FIFA says executive committee member Nicolas Leoz of Paraguay has resigned for health reasons.
Leoz, who is 84 and has undergone several rounds of heart surgery, has been a member of FIFA’s board since 1998. He has been president of CONMEBOL, the South American confederation, since 1986.
Leoz leaves FIFA in the same week that its ethics judge is expected to announce decisions stemming from an investigation into a World Cup kickbacks probe. Leoz was identified during a Swiss criminal trial in 2008 for receiving payments from FIFA’s former marketing partner ISL. The agency collapsed into bankruptcy in 2001.
FIFA says “CONMEBOL will now have to decide immediately on the replacement of Nicolas Leoz as one of its representatives on the FIFA excecutive committee for the remaining period of office.”
