Robert Harrison (football executive) explained

Robert Alexis Luis Harrison Paleari
Birth Date:27 August 1973
Birth Place:Asunción, Paraguay
President of Paraguayan Football Association
Term:2016-2026
Predecessor:Ramón González Daher
Spouse:Patricia Campos
Children:4

Robert Alexis Luis Harrison Paleari (born August 27, 1973) is a Paraguayan businessman and football executive, president of the Paraguayan Football Association (APF) since April 2016.[1]

Personal life and professional career

Robert Harrison is a graduate of the traditional Colegio Goethe[2] and has a degree in Accounting Sciences and Business Administration from Columbia University of Paraguay.[3] He is a shareholder and director of companies in the pharmaceutical and health sectors and also in graphic design.[4] [5]

Harrison is the son of notary public Óscar Harrison, former president of the Paraguayan Football Association,[6] [7] and María Eugenia Paleari[8] and grandson of Colonel Sampson Harrison, who played an important role during the Chaco War[9] and was also president of the APF.[10] He is married to Patricia Campos and they have four children.[11]

Career as football executive

Between 1998 and 2007, Harrison was a member of the APF Youth Teams Department.[12]

In 2000, he joined the board of directors of Club Nacional and from 2002 to 2004 he held the position of second vice president. He later became first vice president and, in 2006, he was elected president of the football team.[13] [14] [15]

During Harrison's presidency, Nacional was champion of the 2009 Torneo Clausura after 63 without obtaining titles in the first division.[16] [17] Nacional also won the 2011 Torneo Apertura[18] and the 2013 Torneo Apertura.[19] [20] In 2014, the team obtained the second place in the Copa Libertadores de América, its greatest international victory to date.[21]

In 2015, he joined the executive committee of the Paraguayan Football Association.[22] He was elected president of the APF in 2016[23] after beating Federico Acosta, president of Club Guaraní.[24] He replaced Ramón González Daher, who had held the presidency of the Association on an interim basis since January after the resignation of Alejandro Domínguez, who was elected president of Conmebol.[25] In 2017 he was re-elected for a five-year term ending in 2022.[26]

Under his management, two new tournaments were created, the Copa Paraguay in 2018[27] and the Supercopa Paraguay in 2019.[28]

In 2019, Harrison headed the organizing committee for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, which took place in Paraguay[29] at the Los Pynandi World Cup Stadium.[30] [31]

Robert Harrison is also one of the directors of the Conmebol Council[32] and the president of its Teams Competitions Commission.[33] Since 2017, he has been a member of the Organizing Committee for FIFA Competitions.[34]

In August 2022 Harrison represented Paraguay and the APF to launch the joint bid for Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and Chile to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.[35]

In 2023 he was reelected for a second period as president of the Paraguayan Football Association.[36]

In 2024 the Paraguayan Women's Football Championship began to be officially called Campeonato Anual FEM[37] and created new women's football tournaments: Copa EFE, Copa Paraguay FEM and Supercopa FEM.[38]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: FIFA President Mr. Gianni Infantino received the President of the Paraguayan Football Association Robert Harrison at the FIFA Paris Office . 2022-06-26 . Fifa Newsroom . en.
  2. Web site: Presidencia . 2024-05-27 . Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol . es.
  3. Web site: Quién es quién en la Conmebol: las historias detrás de los hombres a los que apuntó Messi . 2022-06-26 . Tiempo Argentino . 28 July 2019 . es.
  4. Web site: 2020-04-07 . Presidente de APF hace donativo de medicamentos a IPS y Clínicas . 2022-06-26 . Diario HOY . es.
  5. Web site: Grupo Harrison muda sus oficinas al WTC . 2022-06-26 . ABC Color . es.
  6. Web site: Oscar Harrison: "Mi hijo hará algunos retoques importantes" . 2022-06-26 . La Nación . es.
  7. Web site: "La Confederación maneja Grondona" . 2022-06-26 . ultimahora.com . es-PY.
  8. Web site: Fúnebres . 2022-06-26 . Diario ABC.
  9. Web site: Comando Logístico - Dirección de servicio intendencia del ejercito: Héroes de la DISERINTE . 2022-06-26 . www.diserinte.mil.py.
  10. Web site: Robert, tercer Harrison presidente de la APF . 2022-06-26 . ABC Color . es.
  11. Web site: 2021-10-16 . LARA HARRISON . 2022-06-26 . Chic . es.
  12. Web site: Enfocado en el fortalecimiento del fútbol paraguayo . 2022-06-26 . La Nación . es.
  13. Web site: Robert, ideólogo del sueño de victoria de la Academia . 2022-06-26 . Ultimahora.com . es.
  14. Web site: Robert Harrison es nuevo presidente de Nacional . 2022-06-26 . ultimahora.com . es.
  15. Web site: Ridley . Rob . 2022-08-17 . Club Nacional starts work on Estadio Arsenio Erico revamp . 2024-05-07 . The Stadium Business . en-GB.
  16. News: 2009-12-14 . Nacional conquista Torneo Clausura 2009 en Paraguay . en . Reuters . 2022-06-26.
  17. Web site: Primera División stats .
  18. Web site: El mejor regalo de cumpleaños: ¡Nacional campeón del Apertura! . Paraguay.com.
  19. Web site: Nacional se consagró campeón del Apertura en Paraguay . 2022-06-26 . El Comercio . es-EC.
  20. Web site: Robert, ideólogo del sueño de victoria de la Academia . 2022-06-26 . ultimahora.com . es.
  21. Web site: 15 August 2014 . San Lorenzo seize the holy grail . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140816094149/http://www.fifa.com/world-match-centre/copalibertadores/news/newsid/242/166/1/index.html . August 16, 2014 . FIFA.com.
  22. Web site: 2015-07-29 . Harrison renuncia al Comité Ejecutivo . 2022-06-26 . Diario HOY . es.
  23. Web site: Collaboration the focal point of discussions . 2022-06-26 . www.fifa.com . en.
  24. Web site: 2016-04-26 . Robert Harrison elegido presidente de la Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol . 2024-05-07 . www.cospanama.com . es-PA.
  25. Web site: Robert Harrison es elegido nuevo presidente de la APF . 2022-06-26 . ultimahora.com . es-ES.
  26. Web site: Robert Harrison reelecto como presidente de la APF hasta el 2022 . 2022-06-26 . La Nación . es.
  27. Web site: La APF prepara la puesta en marcha de la Copa Paraguay 2018 . 2022-06-26 . www.ecotvpanama.com . es-PA.
  28. Web site: "Creamos la Supercopa Paraguay" . 2022-06-26 . ABC Color . es.
  29. Web site: 20 November 2019 . Beach soccer's finest ready for Asuncion challenge . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20191121013713/https://www.fifa.com/beachsoccerworldcup/news/beach-soccer-s-finest-ready-for-asuncion-challenge . 21 November 2019 . 20 November 2019 . FIFA.com.
  30. Web site: 2019-09-14 . Draw lines up hosts Paraguay against Japan in opener . 2022-06-26 . Beach Soccer Worldwide . en-US.
  31. Web site: "Los Pynandi" World Cup Stadium . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20191122230356/https://www.fifa.com/beachsoccerworldcup/destination/stadiums/stadium/400095751/ . November 22, 2019 . FIFA.com . 21 November 2019.
  32. Web site: Domínguez convoca al Consejo de la Conmebol para resolver el pedido de Boca . 2022-06-26 . IUSPORT . es.
  33. Web site: Oficial: la decisión de CONMEBOL tras la reunión con River y Boca . 2022-06-26 . Goal.com.
  34. Web site: Viola . Daniel Roberto . Javier Zanetti y el médico Villani son los argentinos designados por la FIFA . 2022-06-26 . IUSPORT . es.
  35. Web site: Singh . Sanjesh . Uruguay Leads Four-Nation Joint Bid to Host 2030 FIFA World Cup . nbcsandiego . 1 November 2022.
  36. Web site: Gómez . Óscar . 2022-11-04 . Es oficial: Robert Harrison fue reelecto como presidente de la APF hasta el 2026 . 2023-06-23 . Versus . es.
  37. Web site: Premio en efectivo y nuevos torneos . 2024-05-14 . La Nación . es.
  38. Web site: La APF presenta el innovador calendario del fútbol femenino . 2024-05-14 . ABC Color . es.