FIFA President Sepp Blatter led the tributes to Harry Cavan, who died after a long illness at the age of 83 at Killinchy, Co Down, on Sunday. Cavan was for many years senior vice-president of one of the world's biggest sporting organisations and for a period in 1984 acted as its secretary general.

That followed the abrupt resignation of Swiss official Dr Helmut Kaiser and for six months Cavan filled the post on a caretaker basis, commuting between Belfast and Zurich until Blatter was appointed to succeed Kaiser at the end of that year.

With Lord Killanin heading up the IOC and Cavan's influence in FIFA eclipsed only by the Brazilian Dr Joao Havelange, Ireland had the distinction of providing two of the most important administrators in sport in the 1970s.

Cavan acted as FIFA's troubleshooter on occasions, notably on the apartheid issue in South Africa and, later, in stabilising sporting relations between Greece and Turkey over the Cypriot issue.

A brilliant orator who used the negotiating skills acquired in his earlier career as a trade union official to telling effect, he was respected throughout the broad world of football.

He was responsible for many significant innovations, among them the decision to scrap the system whereby committees selected international teams. In 1951 he succeeded in having Peter Doherty appointed as manager of the Northern Ireland team with sole powers of selection.

He was a life-long supporter of Ards Football Club, joining in 1938 and acting as its president for almost 50 years. He was also involved in the negotiations which led to an improved relationship between the Irish League and the League of Ireland in the last 30 years.

Harry Cavan was made a CBE in 1984 and in the same year was awarded the Olympic Order Of Merit in recognition of his services to football.