Zumofen, who was the curling manager for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, was officially given the honour at the WCF summer bonspiel in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

He also performed the same role at two editions of the Winter Universiade - in Tarvisio in 2003 and in Turin four years later.

The Italian was unable to accept his award in person due to illness.

It was instead received on his behalf by Gianluca Lorenzi, the son of his best friend Ivo Lorenzi, at the event in the Italian resort.

As well as his role at Torino 2006, Zumofen was a member of several Organising Committees of curling events across the continent, such as the 2003 Le Gruyère European Curling Championships, in Courmayeur, the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship 2009 and Capital One World Men’s Curling Championship 2010, which were both in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

“Franco thoroughly deserves his place in the World Curling Hall of Fame for his hard work cultivating our sport in Italy,” Caithness, WCF President since 2010, said.

“And, what better place to induct him than at the summer bonspiel in the idyllically set, Cortina, where his curling journey began?

“His contribution to our sport is one reason curling is in such good health today.

"On behalf of our 54 Member Associations our warm congratulations go to Franco.”

Zumofen becomes the final inductee into the World Curling Hall of Fame this year, following in the footsteps of Warren Hansen of Canada and Sweden’s Elisabeth Högström, a five-time European champion and world champion in 1981.

Members of the World Curling Federation Hall of Fame are inducted either as "curlers" or "builders".

A ‘builder’, the category which Zumofen is inducted under, is someone who has given distinguished service to the sport and who has provided a vast contribution to the worldwide development of curling.