Costakis Koutsokoumnis mourned

The president of the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) and European member of the FIFA Council, Costakis Koutsokoumnis, has passed away at the age of 61.

Mr Koutsokoumnis had been CFA president since 2001 and a FIFA Council member since April 2017.

His 17-year tenure as head of Cypriot football's governing body brought some remarkable successes for the game on the Mediterranean island and for the CFA itself. Since 2008, the country's top clubs have been frequent participants in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. In addition, sterling work has taken place at grassroots level and in women's football.

"We are deeply saddened to hear of Costakis's passing," said the UEFA President, Aleksander Čeferin. "He was devoted to the game of football and was much respected for his qualities both as a leader and as a person.

"He made a significant contribution to the progress of football in his native Cyprus and in Europe, and he will be greatly missed. We wish to extend our deepest sympathies to his family, the Cyprus Football Association and the Cypriot football community."

"Costakis Koutsokoumnis fought his battle against cancer with great courage and dignity," the CFA said in a statement. "The board of directors, the general manager and the entire personnel of the CFA express their deepest condolences to his relatives and loved ones."

Mr Koutsokoumnis was born on 5 May 1956 in the northern coastal town of Karavas. He studied statistics and actuarial science before going on to take various courses related to risk management.

In November 1994, he was elected to the position of APOEL representative on the CFA board and went on to lead the national teams department. In 1997, he was appointed CFA vice-president.

Mr Koutsokoumnis was elected as CFA president four years later, and was re-elected seven times.

He held a number of positions within UEFA: third vice-chairman of the HatTrick Committee (2007–11), member of the Assistance Programmes Committee (2002–07) and member of the Licensed Match Agents Committee (1996–2006). At the time of his death, he was first vice-chairman of the HatTrick Committee.