Jumping Jack.[/size]
Lasana Liburd looks at the biography of controversial football chief, Jack Warner
He is a measure of reality for those who like bullshit- Chuck Blazer, CONCACAF ExCo member.
Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) vice-president and United National Congress (UNC) deputy political leader Jack Warner at a FIFA meeting on Friday, September 15, was to again respond to allegations regarding his conduct following a fresh controversy regarding the sale of Germany 2006 World Cup tickets.
Once more, Warner must repel accusations of greed and abuse of authority. He has had plenty practice in more than three decades as a sport administrator although the former school teacher has never completely silenced his detractors.
Last December, Warner's diversion of Trinidad and Tobago's World Cup tickets to his family-owned Simpaul's Travel company-which was broken exclusively by the Trinidad Express-earned him a "guilty" conviction by FIFA's Committee for Ethics and Fair Play, who ruled that it was a "conflict of interest" unbecoming of his office. The packages were also declared illegal.
FIFA subsequently let Warner off without further censure providing that he distanced himself from Simpaul's Travel but it was arguably another embarrassing episode for Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation's (T&TFF) special adviser.
Warner's biography titled "From Zero To Hero", which was written by Guardian Sport Editor Valentino Singh and published in June, allowed him the opportunity to satisfy his fans.
Yet, Warner offered token resistance to charges levelled against him for his role in the ticket scandals of the November 19, 1989 qualifier against the United States and the 2006 World Cup campaign.
He claimed that the Simpaul scandal was "character assassination" but did not substantiate this statement and glossed over the fact that his own organisation, FIFA, ruled that he had violated their rules by his involvements. In 1989, he also appeared ignorant of the dangers posed by his overselling of tickets on November 19 such as riots or a fire hazard.
"I knew that there would be questions after the game," Warner told his biographer, "but I figured that once we qualified, most of the inconveniences of the afternoon would be forgiven".
The author also largely ignored the Warner family's profiteering from the 2001 Under-17 World Championship staged in Trinidad and Tobago, which cost taxpayers well over $300 million.
The failure to properly address let alone explain the controversial moments that define much of the public opinion of Warner is the biggest flaw in his biography.
Warner's success story is one of a poor, underprivileged boy from Rio Claro who defied his environment through self-discipline, energy and vision. Singh adequately guided his readers through Warner's childhood and adolescent years straight into his time at the Teachers' Training College.
But it is when Warner took wings that the details became obscure.
Exactly how did Warner progress from the life of an average school teacher and small town administrator to a multi-millionaire, who once gave his personal value at over $150 million?
The author asserted that the administrator had the potential to be "one of the richest men in T&T, if not in the world" based solely on a FIFA executive position which "created major revenue earning opportunities for him".
It seemed to allude to the very conflicts of interest and abuses of power that have repeatedly dogged Warner and his mentor and ex-FIFA president Dr Joao Havelange.
On the eve of the April 28, 1990 CONCACAF congress, Havelange met individually with each member association. The following day, Warner successfully defeated Mexican incumbent Joaquin Terrazzas for the post of CONCACAF president.
Warner made no secret about his worth to the present FIFA president.
"We (CONCACAF) were the only Confederation to give one hundred per cent support to the new president," said Warner, "and we were richly rewarded for our loyalty".
A report from then FIFA general secretary Michel Zen-Ruffinen, four years ago, alleged that Blatter had inappropriately written off a $62 million debt owed by CONCACAF while Zen Ruffinen questioned why Warner was allowed to purchase television rights for the Caribbean for the nominal fee of US$1 for the 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cups under Havelange.
Warner was more loquacious when dealing with his abilities as a football administrator although his claims seemed exaggerated.
He boasted about almost single-handedly saving Trinidad and Tobago and Caribbean football but deliberately downplayed what existed before him.
Two Caribbean teams-Haiti and Cuba-had played at the World Cup finals before Warner helped form the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in 1977 while, at the previous World Cup qualifying series in 1973, three of the final six competing teams-hosts Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago and the Netherlands Antilles-were from the region.
Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago ended in first and second spots respectively ahead of the likes of North American super power, Mexico.
In the post-Warner era, only Jamaica (1998) and Trinidad and Tobago (2006) qualified although the number of available spots has more than trebled while the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) have sometimes gone unrepresented at the final qualifying rung and have never enjoyed their previous scale of representation among the confederation's top teams.
After almost three decades in existence, the CFU still do not have a website.
Likewise, Warner claimed to have met the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) in a state of disarray when he became general secretary in 1973 although the national team was a whisker away from a 1974 World Cup spot and had nearly a dozen foreign-based professionals including Leroy De Leon, Everald "Gally" Cummings, Warren Archibald and Steve David.
Warner's assertion that he still has to bail out the local football governing body and Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) president Oliver Camps' belief that "without (Warner), the country's football was nothing" suggests the structure he helped build remains shaky after 17 years.
Warner was slow to accept blame when things went wrong.
On November 19, 1989 the "Strike Squad" struggled to get inside the National Stadium for the decisive fixture against the US and had to be airlifted over fans irate that the game had been oversold.
But the administrator boasted that he did everything but "put on my gear and score the goals myself" and blamed the 1-0 loss on coach, Cummings.
"It seems somewhat ironic that after (Cummings) had so much say in what the team did and we failed to qualify," stated Warner, "the public never called on Cummings to provide answers and instead chose me to question".
He similarly ignored the millions contributed by sponsors like TSTT and KFC Holdings while praising his supposed one-man show in the success of the "Soca Warriors".
"He is a measure of reality for those who like bullshit,," CONCACAF ExCo member American Chuck Blazer told Warner's biographer.
It is a quote that works both ways.
Curious readers might have been most interested in the trail of money that flowed to the Warner family since his involvement in football.
If so, they were left disappointed.
