Jimenez steps up to replace Gorka Villar, a Spanish lawyer who left CONMEBOL as director general last month, after previously succeeding him as legal director. ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) " South American governing body CONMEBOL has appointed legal director Monserrat Jimenez as interim director general, increasing the influence of female officials as soccer recovers from corruption scandals. Jimenez, a lawyer from Paraguay, takes on extra duty to help steer CONMEBOL through turmoil and restructuring. She joins recently hired FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura as the most senior female administrators in the sport. FIFA withheld millions of dollars of funding from the Paraguay-based confederation and its 10 members amid the financial scandal.

Source: New Zealand Herald August 11, 2016 14:03 UTC