JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Bob Millward, chief soccer writer for the Associated Press News Agency, died aged 58 of natural causes while on assignment at the World Cup, the news agency said on Friday.
Millward, a widely respected British sports journalist who had worked for AP for more than 20 years, died after collapsing in his Johannesburg hotel room on Thursday.
Millward, who was covering his seventh World Cup finals, had also covered numerous Olympic Games and was an acknowledged expert on soccer, cricket, golf, rugby, boxing and horse racing.
"Robert was a lovely man who truly had a zest for life," AP sports editor Terry Taylor said. "He had a twinkle in his eye, a sly sense of humor and, usually, a self deprecating remark that made him an irresistible magnet for all of us.
"We loved his company as much as he loved big assignments, especially the World Cup. We will miss his good cheer and we are very, very saddened by his loss."
(Writing by Paul Radford; Editing by Jon Bramley)
