It is with great sorrow that FESI has been informed of the passing of its former President, Horst Widmann. We hereby wish to extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends and all those who were fortunate enough to have known him. Elected in 2004, Horst Widmann was a remarkable President who contributed greatly to our Federation and to the sport business in general. During his ten years as FESI President, he was a true leader who has succeeded in developing not only strong internal unity among the Federation’s members, but also FESI’s influence on the European political scene.
“Horst was a member of the PUMA family for 27 years and no one really believed he would ever retire, which he only did when he was nearly 77 years old. Internally he was often referred to the “minister of foreign affairs” or “Mister Africa” since his contacts in Eastern Europe and especially in Africa had been very useful in bringing football teams and players to PUMA enriching our diverse company culture”, declared Neil Narriman, FESI President and PUMA General Counsel of Intellectual Property.
“When I joined FESI a bit more than 14 years ago I had my first interview with Horst. I was overwhelmed by his legacy in the sport industry, but Horst was a very kind and inspiring leader. He was driven by a passion for sport and was set to improve FESI in every way. He will be dearly missed”, added Jérôme Pero, FESI Secretary General.
The entire sporting goods industry honors his legacy and mourns his loss, alongside his family, friends and colleagues.
