July 14, 2012
NEW GENERAL SECRETARY
Sanz named to CONCACAF position

NEW YORK---CONCACAF announced on Friday that Enrique Sanz has been appointed general secretary, effective July 25.

Sanz will succeed acting General Secretary, Ted Howard, who has been in this interim role since January, following the resignation of Chuck Blazer. Howard will remain with the confederation as deputy general secretary. Howard will resume his role as deputy general secretary.

CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb made the appointment, which was unanimously approved by the CONCACAF Executive Committee, which met in the Cayman Islands.

“Sanz will have a key role in the administration of CONCACAF. I am certain that we have found a professional with competence and integrity to implement our road map to reform,” Webb said in a statement.

Colombian born, Sanz has been closely related to the soccer world for the past 15 years.

Sanz, 38, will leave his current position as vice president of Traffic Sports USA, a leading soccer marketing company in Latin America, where he has headed the CONCACAF region since 2005. During this time, he became part of the team that laid the foundation for the North American Soccer League in the United States. He also worked in a team that founded various football clubs and was crucial in the development of players in the region.

“I am honored to have been appointed as general secretary,” Sanz eaid in a statement. “Although not without challenge, I foresee a great new era for the confederation.”

Sanz also was founder and CEO of Media Sports Marketing, a soccer marketing agency, and was vice president of Interforever Sports, a premier soccer marketing company in the CONCACAF region.

“With this appointment, and as part of CONCACAF’s new leadership, I understand that my mandate is to oversee the administration of the CONCACAF, so that we may achieve our mission, which is to develop football throughout the region,” Sanz said.

As for Howard, Webb said that he was "thankful for Ted's efforts over the last eight months. His experience will be critical as move forward with the work of reforming CONCACAF."

Howard was executive director of the original North American Soccer League from 1971 until it folded in 1984, director of marketing for Ohlmeyer Communications for three years and director and group manager of NBA Marketing from 1988 until he joined CONCACAF in 1998.