Saez has been interim chair since June 2015 when Kerrith Brown stepped down as chairman to become President of the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF).

He was confirmed as chair following an appointment process, which was agreed upon at the BJA’s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in March.

The process saw the role of chair advertised in April with the nominations panel reviewing the applications at the end of the month.

Selected applicants were then invited to be interviewed for the role at the start of this month with the final selection and ratification taking place at a recent Board meeting.

"I’m absolutely delighted to have been appointed chair of the British Judo Association," Saez said.

"It’s an exciting time for the Association and I’m looking forward to working with our staff, our clubs and our membership to drive forward the 2017 to 2021 British Judo Strategic Plan."

Following the BJA’s EGM in March, a number of recommendations on improving governance were approved.

A staggering 96 per cent of club representatives voted in favour of the proposed governance changes, which were outlined in a report produced by governance expert Jonathan Hall, during the meeting held at the University of Wolverhampton.

The changes to the statutes included a provision which would mean the chair of the Board will be chosen through a "criteria-based appointment process" rather than an election.

They will also be limited to a maximum of two four-year terms to "balance stability and the opportunity for fresh leadership".

Hall said the BJA needed to improve their engagement with their membership and urged them to clarify the roles and responsibilities of key staff within the governing body and Board of Directors.

He also claimed the BJA's progress in enhancing its governance had been "clouded" by the controversy concerning the 2015 European Championships, which were stripped from the Scottish city of Glasgow and instead held in Baku as part of the inaugural European Games.

A report by law firm Hamlins found Brown "almost entirely" responsible.

This decision, made by the European Judo Union (EJU), came as a result of a sponsorship agreement the Brown-led BJA had entered into with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which the EJU claimed did not meet its "values".

The Hamlins report found Brown, who was stripped of his bronze medal at the Seoul 1988 Olympics after testing positive for banned performance-enhancing drugs, had orchestrated a sponsorship agreement between the governing body and the Combat Sports Federation (CSF), which was brokering a deal with the UFC, of which he was a director.

This represented a clear conflict of interest, the report said.

Brown was also accused of deliberately misleading the BJA Board, while chief executive Andrew Scoular was also implicated.

Great Britain won one medal in judo at last year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro with Sally Conway taking bronze in the women's 70 kilograms category.