April 17 – Asian Football Confederation (AFC) General Counsel and Director of Legal Affairs Benoit Pasquier is leaving his position at the end of April after nearly seven years with the confederation.
Andrew Mercer, the AFC’s Deputy Legal Director, has been appointed as the Acting Legal Director and will take charge of the legal department from May.
Previously based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at AFC HQ, Pasquier has returned to Europe where he will set up his own private practice focussed on sports law. He will still handle a number of critical AFC projects, working with Mercer.
Pasquier joined the AFC in 2013 from FIFA after the election of present AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, and at a time unprecedented upheaval within the Asian confederation.
Salman oversaw a stabilisation of the AFC and the Asian game with Pasquier overseeing a legal department that was then just four people but which has now grown to 17 with a set of specialists dealing legal issues across the region.
“It has been and still is a very exciting time for the AFC,” said Pasquier, who oversaw the formalisation of the partnership with Sportradar in the war on match-fixing as well as the tender process for the new, record, commercial rights agreement
Dato Windsor John, the AFC General Secretary, said: “The AFC takes this opportunity to extend its sincere appreciation to Benoit Pasquier for his contribution to Asian football during his tenure and wish him all the best in his private practice.”
Pasquier will offer all aspects of sports law, governance and strategic services in his new firm. He was appointed last July as a CAS arbitrator.
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