Nicolás Leoz | |
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Nicolás Leoz
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President of CONMEBOL | |
In office 1 May 1986 – 30 April 2013 |
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Preceded by | Teófilo Salinas Fuller |
Succeeded by | Eugenio Figueredo |
Personal details | |
Born |
Nicolás Leoz Almirón September 10, 1928 Pirizal, Chaco Paraguayo, Paraguay |
Nationality | Paraguay, Colombia |
Spouse(s) | María Clemencia Pérez |
Profession | Journalist |
Nicolás Leoz Almirón (born September 10, 1928) was President of CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation) from 1986 to 2013. Leoz assumed the presidency in 1986 (succeeding Teófilo Salinas Fuller) and in February 2006, he was reelected as President for a sixth term. He is Paraguayan and he received Colombian citizenship in 2008. On April 23, 2013, Leoz resigned from both the FIFA Executive Committee and the CONMEBOL presidency, citing health issues.
Before his position as President of CONMEBOL, Leoz was President of the Justice Department of the Paraguayan Basketball Confederation (1957–1959), President of Paraguayan Soccer Club Libertad (1969–1970 and 1974–1977), President of the Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (1971–1973 and 1979–1985) and Vice President of CONMEBOL (1972–1974 and 1980–1986).
In November 2010 he was alleged by the BBC to have taken bribes in the 1990s regarding the awarding of World Cup television rights.
In May 2015, Leoz was banned by FIFA Ethics Committee.
Leoz was born in Pirizal, Chaco Paraguayo, Paraguay. His childhood was spent in Pirizal, 78 km. in the industrial complex of Carlos Casado, near the Paraguay River, Puerto Casado today is known as Puerto La Victoria.
From 1940–1950, Leoz was a sports journalist in radio media and the press, with teachers, peers and colleagues like Halley Gerardo Mora Pedro García, Nestor Romero Valdovinos, Milciades Aguayo, Sindulfo Martínez. In 1957, he studied Law at the School of Law and Social Sciences of the UNA (National University of Asunción) and as a student took office in Judiciary as a scribe in interrogations; he graduated December 24, 1957 at 29 years age.