Dempsey, who was born in Scotland in 1922, emigrated to New Zealand in 1952 and was the head of Soccer New Zealand when the country reached the World Cup in 1982.

He served as the Oceania Football Confederation's president for 36 years before stepping down in 2000 after being embroiled in the controversial decision to hand the 2006 World Cup hosting rights to Germany.

Dempsey abstained from voting for "personal reasons" after claiming he had received threats not to vote for South Africa.

By abstaining, he went against the wishes of the Oceania federation which had instructed him to vote for the South Africans, who eventually lost by a single vote.

Dempsey was a New Zealand Football Association national councillor for 23 years and chairman from 1982 to 1987 as well as a member of the FIFA executive from 1996 to 2000.

OFC President Reynald Temarii expressed his sadness upon learning of the death of Dempsey and praised the Scotsman for his tireless work throughout Oceania.

"The Oceania Football Confederation and FIFA owe Charles a debut of gratitude for his complete devotion, extraordinary loyalty and unwavering service to the sport of football," he told the Oceania Football website.

"His perseverance, charm and drive will be missed by all the lives he touches and my deepest sympathies are with his family and friends."