Lima, who previously has 30 years' experience working at TV Globo in Brazil and also served as a member of the FIVB Press Commission from 1997 to 2000, will be hoping to continue this success in his new post.

The new role is one of the structural changes taking place under the leadership of Lima's fellow countryman, Ary S Graça, FIVB communications director Richard Baker has told insidethegames. 

Baker added: "The appointment of Mr Lima to secretary general will ensure that FIVB general director, Fabio Azevedo, has more time to focus on competition and general administration.

"With Mr Lima focusing on the communication, marketing and commercial side of volleyball - areas in which he is expertly qualified."

The new post is the latest in a raft of reformist changes undergone at the International Volleyball Federation during the Presidential tenure of Ary Graça ©Getty Images


Lima, who has attended every Summer Olympics since Moscow 1980, was introduced to the role at a Board of Administration meeting during the 34th FIVB World Congress in Cagliari in Sardinia last autumn before assuming the position this year.

This comes at an exciting time for the sport, building up to Rio 2016 in volleyball-mad Brazil, where the sport is set to be a highlight and home teams are expected to feature prominently in the podium positions.

But the FIVB has also been forced to face challenges in recent months, particularly regarding Anglo-Iranian woman Ghoncheh Ghavami, who was arrested and held for over 150 days after attending an FIVB World League match between Iran and Italy last June in Tehran, where women are banned from watching matches.

The FIVB were criticised for being slow to criticise Iran, but did repeatedly call for her release, stripping Iran of hosting the Boys' Under-19 World Championships this year and awarding it to Argentina instead. 

President Graça himself was also under investigation in December following claims he was linked to corruption between 2010 and 2013 while he was head of the Brazilian Volleyball Confederation.

He strongly denied the allegations.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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