By Andrew Warshaw
April 25 – Uruguay’s Eugenio Figueredo (pictured) has taken over the running of South American football following the resignation of CONMEBOL president Nicolas Leoz.
Leoz, 84, stepped down on Tuesday from both CONMEBOL and the FIFA executive committee citing health reasons. Leoz has been named as one of the senior FIFA officials who allegedly accepted illicit payments from FIFA’s former commercial partner ISL, a World Cup kickbacks saga that is finally expected to be exposed in full by FIFA ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert in the next few days.
Figueredo is CONMEBOL vice-president and is due to see out Leoz’s mandate until 2015 when fresh elections will be held.
“Following the definitive vacancy of the presidency, the vice-president is taking on the position held until now by Dr Nicolas Leoz,” CONMEBOL said in a statement transmitted to FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
Figueredo was president of the Uruguayan Football Association, one of the 10 members of CONMEBOL, from 1997 to 2006.
Leoz re-iterated on Wednesday that his resignation had nothing to do with bribery allegations. “That’s an issue I have no idea about. I’ve not stolen so much as a cent,” the veteran Paraguayan told the Chilean daily El Mercurio. “Let them investigate all they want. The ISL thing was 13 years ago and is finished with.”
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