January 09, (THEWILL) – François Carrard, the former director general of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and a pioneer in sports administration concerns, has died at the age of 83.
The Swiss lawyer served as the IOC’s director general for 14 years, from 1993 to 2003, after which he continued to work in sports ethics and governance.
Following the huge corruption crisis that shook football’s global governing organisation in 2015, he led the taskforce that drafted FIFA reforms. Carrard was also a key figure in the founding of the World Anti-Doping Agency, which dates back to his time as an IOC member.
The International Sports Press Association (AIPS), of which Carrard was a member of the Ethics Commission, announced Carrard’s death. AIPS President Gianni Merlo wrote: “Words are not enough to remember him, we will have to do it with facts because he will continue to be one of us.”
Carrard joined the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1979 as a legal advisor. A decade later, the Swiss became director general, presiding over both the bribery controversy surrounding the awarding of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games to Salt Lake City and the subsequent clean-up of Olympic governance.
Since leaving the IOC, Carrard has advised a number of international federations, including the International Swimming Federation (FINA), FIFA, and the ailing International Boxing Association.
Carrard was a member of the FINA Reform Committee last year, which advocated broad governance reforms that were enacted at an Extraordinary General Congress in December.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
