ROME, August 18, 2008 (AFP) - AS Roma president Franco Sensi has died after a long illness, the Serie A club said on Monday.

Sensi, 82, who had been in charge of the Rome club since 1993, passed away in a city hospital on Sunday.

He oversaw a successful period for the club on and off the field, with Roma winning two Italian Cups (2006-08) and a first division league championship in season 2000-01.

Early tributes for Sensi, the club's longest-serving president, were paid by Italian national coach Marcello Lippi and Rome's mayor Gianni Alemanno.