Garcia passed away at the age of 79 following a period in intensive care, the COA said.

He was a member of the COA Board for 16 years from 2004, and became vice-president in 2016.

Between 2005 and 2013 he was President of Andorra's national tennis federation, while he headed the National Olympic Academy from 2008 until this year.

"Doctors in the intensive care unit of the hospital commented that they had never seen a man so eager to live, but he has finally been unable to overcome the disease," the COA said.

"He has been a fighter, a champion to the end, and sure enough, if the virus hadn't caught him in a moment of low form, he would have won that match too.

"François, with whom we have shared a Board meeting table since 2004, has always been the partner we all want – hardworking, positive, always willing to do whatever is asked of him, and with his eternal smile. 

"Sometimes upset, but never angry.

"Of those 16 years we've lived with him on the Olympic Committee, each of us has a 1,001 anecdotes to tell, there wouldn't be enough pages for all of them. 

"When he was cancer-stricken, there was no way to get him back from the Beijing Olympics, where he was head of mission, so he could get treatment at home.

"We will have, not a little, the memory of his kindness, his always cheerful temperament, his loyalty, his love for sports and ultimately his friendship.

"It has been an honour and a pleasure for all of us to have been on his team for so long, we will miss him and it will be very hard for us to see his chair empty. 

"François, our vice-president, rest in peace and know that you will be in our hearts forever."