By Brian Homewood
May 26 (Reuters) - CONCACAF named former NBA executive
Philippe Moggio as its new general secretary on Thursday as it
continued to try to clean up its act after years of turmoil.
Moggio, a former Colombia Davis Cup tennis player, was named
two weeks after Canadian football boss Victor Montagliani was
elected president of CONCACAF, which governs soccer in North and
Central America and the Caribbean.
The Miami-based confederation was at the centre of a
corruption scandal that engulfed world soccer last year in which
42 individuals and entities charged in the United States on a
variety of graft-related offences.
Three of CONCACAF's most recent presidents, Trinidad and
Tobago's Jack Warner, Cayman Islander Jeffrey Webb and Honduran
Alfredo Hawit, were among those charged. Webb has since pleaded
guilty to offences linked to racketeering, fraud and money-
laundering.
"The key appointment of Philippe Moggio as General Secretary
adds yet another layer of stability to our business operations,"
said Montagliani in a CONCACAF statement.
Moggio, who was the NBA's senior vice-president for Latin
America, will be responsible for the day-to-day running of
CONCACAF and implementing reforms passed in February.
"My focus is to continue implementing the reforms, while
leading the front office in strengthening our business
performance to further position CONCACAF as a leading sports
organization," said Moggio, who also hold French citizenship.
CONCACAF said that during his time at the NBA, Moggio,
formerly an investment banker, oversaw "unprecedented commercial
and developmental success in Latin America and the Caribbean."
Former CONCACAF general secretary Chuck Blazer, who held the
position from 1990 until 2011, secretly pleaded guilty in the
United States to bribery and financial offences in 2013.
FIFA later banned him from all football activities for life.
Enrique Sanz, who held the position from July 2012 under
Webb's leadership, was provisionally suspended by FIFA's ethics
committee last June and then put on indefinite leave in August,
although he is not among those indicted.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)