A public servant in both football and government since emigrating from Scotland in 1968. First a referee, he became President of the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) in 1982. Elected to the CONCACAF Executive Committee in 1986, he was promoted to Senior Vice-President for an eight-year stint beginning in 1990. He also served as chairman of two separate FIFA World Championship Organizing Committees, in 1987 (Under-16) and 2002 (Under-19 Women). He returned to the presidency of the CSA from 1988-2002.