July 21 – Cesar Salinas, the president of the Bolivian Football Federation (FBF), passed away on Sunday, aged 58, after contracting the coronavirus.
Salinas had been hospitalised in La Paz and was incubated, but he could not be rescued. The FBF announced the news of his passing, but didn’t give an official cause of death. His former club, The Strongest, however said that he had been diagnosed with the coronavirus.
“It is with much pain that I got the news of the passing of my friend Cesar Salinas, president of the Bolivian Football Federation,” wrote Conmebol president Alejandro Dominguez on Twitter. “Cesar was a man who was committed to the sport and he leaves us a legacy of dedication and hard work to the development of Bolivian and South American football.”
Salinas’ wife, Ines Quispe, also contracted the illness. She is the president of The Strongest.
Salinas launched his career as a football administrator at The Strongest as a vice-president to Kurt Reisch. In 2014, he assumed the presidency until 2018 when he ran for the FBF presidency.
As chairman of the FBF, he had been involved in recent talks with local authorities to plan a return of play for Bolivian football after a four-month hiatus due to the coronavirus.
Bolivia has registered 59,582 cases and 2,151 deaths according to data from the Johns Hopkins University.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1735136026labto1735136026ofdlr1735136026owedi1735136026sni@o1735136026fni1735136026