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Offline asylumseeker

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #60 on: December 16, 2015, 05:43:55 AM »
Burrell not keen on top CONCACAF job
Jamaica Gleaner


Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president, Captain Horace Burrell, revealed that given the recent corruption investigations which rocked world football and threw the regional body into chaos following the arrest two former presidents, he is not keen to be head of CONCACAF.

Caymanians Jeffrey Webb and Alfredo Hawit have been arrested in football's ongoing scandal and another former CONCACAF president, Trinidad and Tobago's Austin 'Jack' Warner, has been implicated in the corruption probe, with a US extradition request sent to his Government.

The JFF boss, in the past, had declared his ambitions to assume the CONCACAF top job.

He was recently appointed to an interim CONCACAF body to govern the affairs of the region's football until a new president is elected at the confederation's next congress in Mexico City in May.
 
Give others a chance

However, Burrell now insists that to be president of two demanding associations would be time-consuming and challenging.

"Look at what people have been saying? So I won't hang around until I am thrown out," Burrell noted.

"Many people now want the post, so at times you have to step back and give others who have asked for the opportunity the chance to serve," he told The Gleaner.

"I have a business which I have built for many years, and it's time to start paying attention to that. After a while, you realise that you need time for family, business and other things," he added.

"I am not going to step back fully (from football administration), I will always be around. Right now, I am the JFF president and I am going back for another four years, as I have been nominated unopposed.

"That, in itself, is a lot of commitment and to give that commitment to the regional body is going to take up more of the time. So to hold both posts is a huge task.

"Right now, I am a vice-president of the organisation (CONCACAF), but to vie for the head would mean complete devotion, and with my federation, business and family, it would be very difficult," he explained.

CONCACAF'S interim committee comprises Justino Compean (Mexico), Sunil Gulati (USA), Pedro Chaluja (Panama), Luis Hernandez (Cuba), Victor Montagliani (Canada) and Sonia Bien-AimÈ (Turks & Caicos) and Burrell.

The Jamaican said the focus is to rebuild the organisation's reputation and get reforms.

"We have collectively decided to remain as one strong body, to operate as a unit until next May when the election is due. This was a unanimous decision and we have been pursuing a number of reforms to make the confederation emerge stronger.

"We feel it is the right thing to do and we are certain that in the months ahead, things will return to normal and the confederation will be much stronger and transparent," he commented.

"This is a voluntary position and times may come when others want an opportunity and they should be given the opportunity. But at this time, I am just concentrating on working with the group, getting the reforms in place and passed by congress, so that when we go forward, the problems that we have experienced recently, the reform process will prevent a lot of these from happening again," he stated.

Offline dreamer

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #61 on: December 16, 2015, 07:15:05 AM »
Burrellito, yuh soundin' like a man who might have something else on yuh mind.
Yuh sure iz family time yuh need?
Supportin' de Warriors right tru.

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #62 on: December 16, 2015, 09:23:05 AM »
Hmmm???? The Gleaner describes Hawit as Caymanian ...
Intriguing.

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #63 on: December 22, 2015, 04:32:59 AM »
´I have no fear’ – Burrell not worried about prosecution in FIFA probe
Jamaica Gleaner


Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president, Captain Horace Burrell, said his hands are clean and does not fear being prosecuted in connection with the ongoing investigations into corruption at football’s world governing body FIFA and has vowed to oversee changes that will restore CONCACAF’s reputation.

Since May this year, two presidents – Jeffrey Webb and Alfredo Hawit – of CONCACAF, the confederation representing football bodies from the Caribbean and North and Central America, have been arrested as the United States Justice Department in conjunction with Swiss authorities investigate malfeasance amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Webb, who was arrested in May, and Hawit, jailed in early December, were among an estimated 30 football officials who were arrested between May and December this year. Webb has pleaded not guilty to corruption charges in US Federal Court. Arising from the arrests, Burrell, a close friend and business partner of Webb, was among several officials appointed to an executive committee at CONCACAF that will oversee the running of the confederation until elections are held in May 2016.

Asked if there were fears among the committee members about further arrests, Burrell said he was not fearful of being implicated of anything sinister.

“I can only speak for myself; I have absolutely no fear or concerns and I am sure my other colleagues would feel the same way, but you just can’t swear for anyone in this case, so we just have to hope,” he said.

 

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #64 on: December 22, 2015, 04:48:58 AM »
Ricketts surprised after losing JFF VP post
By Sanjay Myers, Jamaica Observer


KINGSTON, Jamaica — Michael Ricketts, the outgoing Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) third vice-president, says he was surprised after losing the post at a JFF Special Congress on Sunday.

It had promised to be a tight election run-off at the JFF headquarters in New Kingston, but some insiders had given Ricketts the nod due to his track record in the South Central Confed and his sheer popularity.

“It was a surprise, but that's what elections are about — surprises,” Ricketts told OBSERVER ONLINE.

“The process was fair and democratic, but the major disappointment was the deceit from my colleagues. A number of persons assured me that they would vote for me and obviously they didn't,” he added.

Ricketts, president of the Clarendon Football Association and chairman of the JFF competitions committee, won eight votes.

Bruce Gaynor and Raymond Anderson, the respective first and second vice-presidents during the previous administration, received 10 votes a-piece.

Garfield Sinclair, managing director of telecommunication firm Flow and treasurer of the JFF during the last term, got nine votes.

Captain Horace Burrell returned unopposed as JFF head after Orville Powell, the club president of Montego Bay United, failed in his nomination bid in November.

There was special interest in the vice-president race once it was announced that FIFA guidelines meant one of the spots had to be held by the local federation's head of finance. That left the trio of incumbents plus Sinclair to vie for three positions.

The election process allowed each association to vote for three of the four people running for vice-president. Ultimately, two parishes voted for only two candidates.

Offline Sando prince

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #65 on: December 24, 2015, 04:40:23 AM »

Wha is the deal with next year Caribbean Nations Cup? Which country hosting the final round? seeing T&T didn't win the final of last tournament I am expecting us to have to qualify fuh this ting next year, so how d grouping look like?

Offline Flex

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #66 on: December 24, 2015, 07:46:32 AM »
CONCACAF suing California company over alleged kickbacks.

(AP) - LOS ANGELES—CONCACAF is suing a California company for at least $50 million in an alleged kickback scheme involving two former executives of the soccer body.

The Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean Association Football filed a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles, USA on Monday. The lawsuit names Los Angeles area-based Cartan Tours, its owner, an executive and three related companies.

Messages left for an attorney and an executive at Cartan Tours were not immediately returned Wednesday.

The lawsuit alleges "a clandestine, kickback-based and parasitic relationship" between Cartan and two former CONCACAF executives, president Jeffrey Webb and general secretary Enrique Sanz. Webb and Sanz were not being sued.

Webb has pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges after his arrest with other FIFA officials in Switzerland in May. Webb also was a FIFA vice president and executive committee member.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline Deeks

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #67 on: December 24, 2015, 07:58:13 AM »

Wha is the deal with next year Caribbean Nations Cup? Which country hosting the final round? seeing T&T didn't win the final of last tournament I am expecting us to have to qualify fuh this ting next year, so how d grouping look like?

Breds, you jumping ahead ah time. You to fass for your self. Have a Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year.  ;D ;D ;D. But seriously, yes we need to find when the Carib Nation Cup is. This might be the right tournament for the socalled fringe players to decide if they want to played for TT. The Iniss, the Bostock, Deleon,etc. is now or never.

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #68 on: January 07, 2016, 05:24:58 AM »
Rodrigues prepares challenge for CONCACAF presidency
By Paul Nicholson, InsideWorldFootball




Guyanese Mark Rodrigues is the first candidate to declare he will run for the presidency of the North and Central American and the Caribbean confederation in elections expected to take place May 12 in Mexico City.

Rodrigues, who has a strong history of administration, football development and coaching, has issued a manifesto in which he says he will usher in a new style of leadership at CONCACAF, "one that leads with honesty and integrity where playing football is at the heart of everything we do and stand for."

His entry into a leadership contest dramatically changes the presidential playing field in a confederation that historically has preferred to have its elections stage-managed.

The CONCACAF executive committee chose not to promote one of its vice-presidents to the role of interim president following the arrest of the serving interim vice president Alfredo Hawit in Zurich in December while attending FIFA meetings.

Without anyone fulfilling the presidential role, this left the executive committee and its consultants in charge of decision making, with the statement that they believe that it is in the best interests of the confederation to wait until new elections in May. This situation has been challenged by Caribbean members who strongly feel that it is a breach of the confederation's statutes.

The arrival of Rodrigues, backed by Guyana but who will need the support of three further member associations before he can officially stand, opens up the challenge for the presidency. It is believed that the North and Central American preferred candidate for the presidency is Canadian president Victor Montagliani, while from the Caribbean region, Caribbean Football Union president Gordon Derrick also has privately expressed ambition for the position in the past and is expected to step forward.

The Caribbean, if they vote as a block can be king makers in the region with their 31 votes out of a total of 41 in the confederation.

It is rumoured that there may also be another Caribbean candidate in the running, the popular Luis Hernandez of Cuba who is a member of CONCACAF's executive committee.

If three Caribbean candidates stand (and assuming the Caribbean does not follow through on talk of breaking away from CONCACAF and reforming itself as its own confederation within FIFA's jurisdiction), then the regional vote could be split which, ironically, will likely lead to the long term splitting of the Caribbean's power base and regional voice which the associations are keen to protect.

Rodrigues brings an alternative dimension to CONCACAF's presidential options. Having had a career in business where he handled over $110 million of real estates sales in Canada, as well as being president and COO of several multi-franchised fast food stores. He returned to focus on football, building the largest youth soccer club in Florida in five years.

In 2009 he started the Guyana Women's National Team programme, qualifying for the 2010 CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Championships, returning in May last year to the women's set-up and has again qualified the team for the CONCACAF Olympic Championships in Texas, February 2016. He works this job pro bono.

Having worked across multiple CONCACAF member associations he has experienced first hand the challenges member associations face. This is reflected in his manifesto which proposes to get more of the confederation's money directly to its member associations. "50% of CONCACAF's revenues should be distributed directly to the Member Associations for Solidarity over 4 years - including the $100,000 that was initiated and stopped in 2014."

He also says the confederation needs to establish a sufficient reserve to cover operational needs of CONCACAF and that there needs to be a greater transparency of running costs and development funding. All of this he says must come with much greater auditing and compliance procedures.

Rodrigues also puts integrity at the heart of his proposal saying that "an independent governance and audit and compliance committee will be in charge of supervising the CONCACAF President and the entire CONCACAF organization to ensure good governance is implemented."

He also proposes the "creation of the CONCACAF Football Council whose role will be to advise the CONCACAF President and the CONCACAF Executive Committee on strategic football matters such as:

• Improving the Confederations way of governance
• Competition formats
• Calendar
• Strategies for football development
• Council will be composed of highly respected members of football and the football business community to ensure credibility

Not surprisingly given his history of football development and grassroots experience, he has a separate set of five proposals that he says are iron-clad:

1. Increase Participation of All Ages and Genders in Grassroots Football – via structured schools projects in conjunction with governments and targeting a 10% increase in registered boys and girls
2. Increase Expertise in Elite and Grassroots Football Development – through knowledge sharing programmes funded by CONCACAF
3. Establish a System Where the Cost of the Technical Director is Supported or Covered by CONCACAF
4. Expand Infrastructures and Distribution of Football Material
5. Developing Women's Football – he says the women's game must have it's own budget.

Rodrigues says he has worked at various levels within CONCACAF but has not participated at the top levels of the confederation's structures where it has been most exposed to the corruption that brought it to its knees earlier this year. He says this is a positive as he is "not beholden to anyone in any way. Therefore I can serve as CONCACAF President exclusively in the interest of football, while representing all 41 Member Associations and their future."

The challenge for Rodrigues will be to convince member association voters that he has the expertise and skills to lead the confederation into a new era. He will need to overcome some high profile opposition in CONCACAF football administrative circles to do that.

paul.nicholson@insideworldfootball.com

« Last Edit: January 07, 2016, 05:27:23 AM by asylumseeker »

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #69 on: January 07, 2016, 05:39:18 AM »
As of yesterday, Alfredo Hawit is to be extradited by the Swiss to the US, within the next ten (10) days.

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #70 on: January 08, 2016, 11:05:18 AM »
Head of Webb's Cayman office claims unfair dismissal
By James Whittaker, Cayman Compass


The head of former CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb’s Cayman-based office was one of three people suspended from work by the regional soccer body in the aftermath of Webb’s arrest, according to allegations in a lawsuit.

Lerina Bright, who earned US$100,000 a year as “head of international affairs and the president’s office” is suing CONCACAF, claiming she was unfairly treated and effectively forced out of the job.

Ms. Bright, who ended her employment in November, claims the organization’s decision to place her on required leave cast unfair suspicion on her conduct and integrity. She is claiming the actions of CONCACAF amounted to unfair dismissal and damaged her reputation, and is seeking compensation.

A statement of claim, filed with the Grand Court on behalf of Ms. Bright, reveals for the first time the internal investigation that took place at CONCACAF’s offices at the George Town Financial Center, formerly the Admiral Financial Center, in George Town following Webb’s arrest. It suggests that three employees at the office were put on required leave within weeks of Webb’s arrest in Switzerland last May.

It states that Ms. Bright was informed on June 11 that CONCACAF was going through a “period of transition following much publicized recent events.” According to the statement, she was told in writing that her role was under review as part of a “rationalization of operations in the Cayman Islands” and she would be placed on required leave.

The suit alleges that Dr. Laila Mintas, who at the time was director of sports integrity for CONCACAF and based in Cayman, told staff that Ms. Bright was being criminally investigated.

It states that Dr. Mintas said in the presence of staff that “the plaintiff (Ms. Bright) and two other members of staff had been sent home because investigations were under way into their roles in the case relating to Jeffrey Webb and stated ‘as far as I am concerned all three of them are thieves’ or words to that effect.”

The statement of claim later alleges that Dr. Mintas told staff “they have been trafficking cash for Jeffrey.”

The court filing states that these comments amounted to slander and along with the decision to place Ms. Bright on administrative leave caused distress and embarrassment and damaged her reputation as a sports administrator. These issues, along with the “global exposure and disgrace” of CONCACAF following the arrest of some of its leading figures, including Webb, have impacted and will continue to impact her chances of gaining employment, the court document states.

Ms. Bright was refused permission to return to work at CONCACAF on Nov. 10, it adds.

“The plaintiff was wrongfully dismissed from her employment,” the suit states.

It claims she is owed nearly $40,000 in severance pay, lost earnings and pension contributions, as well as further damages for slander and breach of contract.

It adds, “The plaintiff has further suffered detriment in the labor market and damage to her future career prospects in the sports industry and claims damages as a result of the stigma resulting from her association with the unlawful conduct of the defendant.”

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #71 on: January 08, 2016, 11:10:05 AM »
Cayman bank lent $240,000 to company owned by disgraced former FIFA officials
Curacao Chronicle


GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands — Former Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) president, Jeffrey Webb, borrowed money from Fidelity Bank in the Cayman Islands on behalf of a sports firm he owned with Jack Warner, his predecessor at CONCACAF, with the help of Webb’s former business partner Canover Watson.

Brett Hill, Fidelity’s chief executive, gave evidence in Watson’s fraud trial that officials at the bank approved a loan in 2011 to JD International for US$240,000 at the request of Webb, who was working at the bank at the time, Cayman News Service reported.

That firm, which was owned by Webb, Warner and Costas Takkas, has also been embroiled in the ongoing FIFA corruption probes.

The jurors heard Monday that Webb had sent questions from the bank about the loan to Watson for help in answering them and securing the money, which the bank was led to believe would be invested in AIS Cayman Ltd, which had won a lucrative contract with the local hospital, but was really owned by Watson and Webb, fronted by two sham directors.

However, the crown maintains in its case against Watson and Webb that the money was never invested in AIS but was used instead to pay off another loan on a house that Webb owned in Atlanta, Georgia.

The loan was granted by the bank for three months and the cash went first into the AIS Cayman Ltd account at Fidelity, which was controlled by Webb, the only signatory on the account, and then on to his account with Wells Fargo in the US. Hill confirmed that the loan was paid in full after the three months.

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #72 on: January 09, 2016, 01:36:34 PM »
Canadian Soccer Association president Victor Montagliani assesses program after "very successful" 2015
MLSsoccer.com


The action never really stops in the global sport of soccer, and no one knows this better than the president of a national governing body.

So at the end of a busy and exciting year for Canadian soccer, we caught up with Canadian Soccer Association president Victor Montagliani for a one-on-one chat about the successes and disappointments of 2015, as well as what footie fans up north can expect in the year ahead.


MLSsoccer.com: In a general sense, how would you characterize the year that was for Canadian soccer?

Montagliani: From a results standpoint, we would have liked some better results at the club and country level. At the end of the day, you’re talking about the game as the sharp edge of the knife, and ultimately, I think you always want to win championships or get as far as you can in tournaments. From that perspective, there was some success.

Quarterfinals [at the Women’s World Cup] is not bad, although it wasn’t our goal. We missed an opportunity. Gold Cup, although I thought we looked tight, we looked prepared, but things didn’t bounce our way. And our clubs, although they had good regular seasons, didn’t perform the way they wanted to—or we wanted to—in the playoffs.

It’s more of a glass half full than half empty, because I think the entities I just spoke about have come a long way, in terms of how we manage and govern our own businesses. I think soccer is not only on the map in this country, but in the consciousness of Canadians, and I think the professional clubs and the CSA should take some credit for that, for managing the soccer properties the right way. So I think all in all, it’s been a very successful year.

MLSsoccer.com: One of the events you just mentioned was the Women’s World Cup, with the home team making it to the quarterfinals. But from an organizational perspective, how successful was Canada 2015?

Montagliani: A home run. The numbers speak for themselves. Attendance-wise, economic impact-wise, and then the last stat that came out was TV audience, when three quarters of a billion people tuned in, worldwide. Those are ridiculous numbers. So I think saying that it was anything short of a home run is probably understating it.

MLSsoccer.com: In terms of the Canadian women’s team itself, this was maybe a bit of a “last hurrah” for some of the veteran players…

Montagliani: Absolutely. Not to get into specifics with names, but I think it’d be a bit of a stretch to think that a handful of the players that our fans saw here in Canada this year, and probably will see in Rio next year, I would struggle to think that they’re going to be wearing a Canadian jersey in 2019 when we go to France for the World Cup.

You’ve seen a change. The player of the year for the women [20-year-old Kadeisha Buchanan], I think that was an obvious choice, but it’s also a symbolic choice, because that’s the beginning of what we’re going to see in the future. You’re going to see Kadeisha and Ashley Lawrence, Jessie Fleming and that whole new generation of players, as the candidates moving forward for player of the year. They’re going to be the core of the program, just like [Christine] Sinclair and [Melissa] Tancredi and all of them have been the core of the program for the last 15 years.

MLSsoccer.com: It’s kind of remarkable to see Kadeisha win the women’s award and then see Cyle Larin come second in voting for the men’s award in just his rookie season, a pair of 20-year-olds there. Do you see that as a sign that the pipeline is really turning into overdrive in terms of Canadian talent?

Montagliani: I think the pipeline is as full as it’s ever been. There’s still some things we need to do to make it better, especially at the early stages of development, that’s where we need to get better. I think we’re starting to fill in at the top end of things, with high-performance leagues and getting our players exposed. But you’re starting to see players come through, whether it’s Cyle Larin, Michael Petrasso, you’re starting to see players come through—and dynamic players, as well.

One of the issues that maybe we’ve had in the past is we haven’t developed dynamic players, but I think that’s starting to change. You’ve got young kids like Marco Bustos and Kianz Froese, they’re not cookie-cutter type players, they all have a unique talent. I like what I’m seeing in terms of what’s coming through.

MLSsoccer.com: This year, the talk has moved a little more public about the possibility of a new Canadian professional men’s league. What can you tell us about where that stands?

Montagliani: We want to give us the best opportunity for that to come to fruition, which is why we haven’t rushed to making any assumptions. We want to make sure we’ve dotted every “i” and crossed every “t” in terms of the best model moving forward for this country, from a feasibility standpoint, from a business model standpoint.

We’re continuing our due diligence in that. We’ve talked to the various ownership groups that would be interested—actually, more than just interested—so what we want to do is, I think, 2016 we’ll be in a position to go public with more details and even have more of a date going forward, in terms of when we would start.

But it’s something that I think is very important because it’s something that is needed in this country. I think relying on five teams to carry the load of player development in a country like ours is asking a lot of those guys. I think they do more than their fair share, quite frankly; we need to help out that equation in terms of finding more expressions of professional football in this country.

MLSsoccer.com: You spoke about those pro teams a bit earlier, and in 2015 we saw all three MLS teams make the playoffs, and the Ottawa Fury went to the NASL final. Do you feel that Canadian clubs having such success is, in and of itself, a good step forward for Canadian soccer?

Montagliani: Absolutely. I think the more successful they are, the more it raises the profile of the game. But I think ultimately this success, you could even double down on that success, in terms of the power it would have if that success is coupled with a significant contribution from Canadian players.

So, having success without Canadian players contributing significantly, it’s good. But if you add Canadian players contributing significantly to that success, you’re doubling down on that success.

MLSsoccer.com: So is it safe to say you’re a fan of Toronto FC signing Will Johnson?

Montagliani: I’m a fan of Will, to start with. He’s got to make the best decision for his family, first and foremost. But yeah, I’m a fan of that move because I think he’ll do very well there.

MLSsoccer.com: Looking at World Cup qualifying, the game in Vancouver last month against Honduras drew a crowd of over 20,000 people. For you, not just in the role you’re in with the CSA but also as a west coaster, it must have been gratifying to see a crowd like that, especially since it had been so long since Vancouver had hosted a men’s game. How was it for you to see that crowd, as well as the result?

Montagliani: I remember when we announced the game, I fielded a few questions about “well, do you think it’s a hard sell?” because we were ranked whatever we were ranked back then. I did bristle at that question a little bit. But I was really happy because the city that I grew up in and love responded exactly the way I thought it would respond.

And they actually upped the ante because we’re already past that number for [the March 25 qualifier against] Mexico, and I think we’ll probably be very close to a lower-bowl sellout [by the end of the year].

MLSsoccer.com: Some would say that a lot of those tickets sold are probably to Mexican fans. What are your expectations for that game?

Montagliani: Actually, to be honest, from what we can gather from the data of the sales, a significant portion—I’m talking 80 percent, from what we can track; obviously we don’t have control on resale—are Canadian fans, not Mexican fans. So, taking that number, if the lower-bowl sellout is 27,000, I would think 24,000 of that would be Canadian, from the data that’s coming through Ticketmaster.

Now, the question is, are we going to look into opening the upper bowl or not? We’re not sure yet. We’ll have to consider it, but the consideration is not just about giving access to an upper bowl to sell out, we’re also going to be considering the dynamics of what’s going to be in the upper bowl. There’s a lot of factors before we make the decision about the upper bowl.

MLSsoccer.com: It sounds to me that if thousands of Mexican fans wanted upper-bowl tickets, you’d rather keep the upper bowl closed. Is that what you’re getting at?

Montagliani: Yeah.

MLSsoccer.com: We had a chat in 2013 and you told me that expanding the Canadian Championship tournament in the years ahead was “a must”. Now you’ve got USL teams in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, you’ve got League 1 Ontario and PLSQ doing well—where do you see the Voyageurs Cup heading in the next few years? Do you see further expansion in 2016 or 2017?

Montagliani: I’m not sure about the USL teams, because they are reserve teams of the MLS teams. That’s a challenge in itself, because it’s the same club. So I’m not sure, from a governance standpoint, how that would work; I would actually be against it, because they’re moving players up and down all the time. I’m not saying we can’t do it, unequivocally, but I think there’s some challenges there.

In terms of the semi-pro option, absolutely. I would hope by 2017 we would have that option. I would even think by 2018 we’d chuck in an amateur option at the senior level, where they’d have an opportunity to play into it. And ultimately, if we expand our own professional league or have more teams playing in Canada, you have an opportunity of having a five- or six-team tournament turn into a 12-, 13-, 14-team tournament. It just makes it a lot more exciting and a lot more palatable in terms of quantity and, hopefully, quality for the fans.

MLSsoccer.com: What would you say Canada Soccer’s top priorities are for 2016?

Montagliani: If you’re looking outwards, there’s obviously qualifying for the Rio Olympics on the women’s side, doing well at the U-20 Women’s World Cup, and qualifying for the U-17 [Women’s World Cup] and doing well. Doing well is for our women to get to semifinal, and medal at the Olympics.

On the men’s side, well, you and me both know what that is: to get to the Hex. That would be the ultimate success.

Looking inwards, it’s an increase in terms of priority investment on the technical side of the game, domestically. We’re looking at more boots on the ground and streamlining in technical areas; we’re looking at the high-performance leagues. We’re not just letting our membership wallow; they’re trying to do their best, obviously, but I think there’s some guidance that’s necessary from the national body. To me, that’s the No. 1 priority domestically.

MLSsoccer.com: There has been some resistance to some of the changes that the CSA has been trying to make at the grassroots level. How successful has that push towards higher and more centralized technical standards been in 2015?

Montagliani: The truth is, we barely started. We started in some areas more than others, but I think we need to completely relook at our coaching education and investment in it, a relook in terms of making sure we’re involved in high-performance leagues, making sure we’re pushing down into that Under-12 area to ensure that the right environment is created for players—and de-mything a lot of the ignorance that’s out there sometimes in those areas.

I think where we’ve done a good job, and what I committed to—and you can’t do everything in three years—was to really clean up and refresh the national team program in terms of consistency of off-field quality. I think we’ve done a really good job, where youth teams and senior teams are playing all the time.

When you go behind the curtains, it’s a five-star program in terms of how we treat the players, what the players get. If you speak to the players, on or off the record, I’m pretty confident of the answer you’re going to get. We played on pretty much every FIFA date, which is something that wasn’t happening before. If you don’t play on every FIFA date, it’s hard to bring in young players and have a look at them.

Now the focus domestically is what I’ve talked about, and that needs to be pushed over the next two years, which is the end of the cycle of our strategic plan. We need to increase the speed of that, so that we can meet the marks we set for 2018.

MLSsoccer.com: Do you think that off-field treatment is connected to what we’ve seen with the men’s team in terms of players choosing Canada in 2015? I’m thinking of guys like Tesho Akindele and Junior Hoilett, and Lucas Cavallini, who was away for a few years but came back. Is that coincidental or is it the byproduct of work that’s been put in?

Montagliani: I don’t think it’s coincidental at all. The best form of advertising for a business is word of mouth. If you tell you, ‘Hey, they make an unbelievable pasta over there’, you’re going to go, right? Especially if I say it.

MLSsoccer.com: Well, if a guy named Montagliani tells me where to get good pasta…

Montagliani: But you know what? That’s what’s happened. You can’t worry about what people think; all you can worry about is what you do. So we worried about what we do, in terms of making sure we look after every detail, in terms of the program, right down to the way we transport our equipment. Now it’s done five-star, even little details like that.

The players feel it when they come in, and players talk. They chat. When they know, and when you sit down with a player—like the many times I’ve sat down with Junior over the last three years—it’s obvious to these guys that we run a good ship. Although sometimes you’re not getting the results on the field that you want, you have to be patient and confident during the process. I think we’ve done that, and hopefully the soccer gods smile on us and give us a few results, too.

MLSsoccer.com: That would help, of course. We’ve heard a few more names of guys kicking around who are thinking of suiting up for Canada on the men’s side. Do you think this trend will continue into 2016?

Montagliani: I’m confident we’re going to have at least two, maybe three more announcements in 2016.

MLSsoccer.com: In time for the Mexico games?

Montagliani: Hopefully, yes.

MLSsoccer.com: Are you willing to give any hints?

Montagliani: …No.

MLSsoccer.com: How about first letter of a first name?

Montagliani: Well, you can speculate. I’ll put it that way.

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #73 on: January 19, 2016, 10:09:46 PM »
Webb’s CONCACAF salary was stopped after arrest
Cayman News Service


(CNS): Former CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb is no longer receiving any cash from either FIFA or the regional association, CONCACAF has confirmed. Although a number of other football officials caught up in the massive FIFA corruption probe are still being paid, Webb, who has pleaded guilty to corruption charges connected to kickbacks and bribes from sports marketing companies, saw his salary and contract terminated immediately after his arrest in May.

According to international press reports, banned UEFA president Michel Platini is still being paid “until further notice” and banned FIFA president Sepp Blatter is also still receiving his salary until FIFA elects a new leader next month. But after Webb was arrested in Zürich in May, his contract was terminated and he is no longer getting his lucrative salary.

Webb was also terminated from the Cayman Islands Football Association (CIFA) following revelations of his conviction after the admitted his role in the bribery and corruption scandal. Webb remains under house arrest in Atlanta on a $10 million bond raised with the help of luxury cars, jewellery and property. He is expected to be sentenced in June.

Webb is still wanted in the Cayman Islands to face charges relating to corruption offences here over the hospital CarePay contract.

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #74 on: January 21, 2016, 06:00:38 PM »
Derrick to run in CONCACAF presidency race
By Neto Baptiste, Antigua Observer   



Caribbean Football Union (CFU) President Gordon “Banks” Derrick (right) chats with CONCACAF Acting General Secretary Ted Howard during the recent CFU General Meeting in Antigua.

Gordon “Banks” Derrick, General Secretary of the Antigua & Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) and President of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), has confirmed he will contest the CONCACAF presidency race when it comes up in May.

The CONCACAF Ordinary Congress is slated for May 12 in Mexico City.

“At our congress over the weekend a lot of the delegates had mentioned to me that they think I should run and I indicated that I will take up the challenge, but we will make a public announcement of it in short order,” he said.

Derrick, however, stopped short of detailing any planned campaign strategies, stating that following acceptance of the organisation’s revised constitution in February, his team will set the wheels in motion.

“In February (there is an) extraordinary congress just before the FIFA one, which would ratify and approve the constitution of CONCACAF, probably. Once that happens then everything is in place, because they have made some changes with regards to the management of CONCACAF, so it would be called CONCACAF Council, and there are lots of different things that go along with that,” he said.

Partial article due to Antigua Observer subscription policy.
« Last Edit: January 21, 2016, 06:03:26 PM by asylumseeker »

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #75 on: January 30, 2016, 10:33:01 AM »
CONCACAF Committee Shares Statutes Reform
Bernews


The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football’s [CONCACAF] Executive Committee submitted for consideration of its Member Associations a package of reforms and amendments to the Confederation’s statutes.

CONCACAF is the governing body of football for the Caribbean and Central American region, covering a number of nations and islands including Bermuda, and Bermuda Football President Larry Mussenden is currently running for CONCACAF President.

“The amendments to CONCACAF’s statutes will be discussed in advance of CONCACAF’s XXI Extraordinary Congress, and voted on by Member Associations in Zurich, Switzerland, on February 25, 2016,” the group said.

“The statutory changes under consideration were developed by CONCACAF’s Statutes Reform Committee to incorporate recommendations made by the FIFA Reform Committee and commitments made in the CONCACAF Reform Framework.

“The CONCACAF Reform Framework was unanimously approved by CONCACAF’s Executive Committee on July 4, 2015, and put in place to guide the Confederation’s reform process to separate politics from the business and administration of the game, and align the Confederation’s governance and business operations with corporate best practices.

CONCACAF said the specific reforms include:

Governance: The establishment of the CONCACAF Council to replace the current Executive Committee. The CONCACAF Council will consist of up to fifteen members with representation from each of CONCACAF’s three geographic Unions, including a proposal to require three members to be independent.

Independent Committees: The creation of a Compensation Committee, Governance Committee, Audit and Compliance Committee, and Finance Committee. The Compensation and Audit and Compliance Committees are to be comprised entirely of independent members. The Governance and Finance Committees are to be chaired by and comprised of a number of independent members.

Ethics: A requirement for all candidates for the CONCACAF Council, CONCACAF President, standing committee members, members of judicial bodies, and senior Confederation officials to undergo eligibility checks to be conducted by an independent Ethics Committee.
Term Limits: The introduction of term limits of twelve years [consecutive or non-consecutive] for CONCACAF Council members and members of independent committees.

Transparency: The Congress is given authority to review and approve on an annual basis, upon the recommendation of the independent Compensation Committee, the remuneration and other compensation of CONCACAF Council members, CONCACAF representatives before FIFA, the chairpersons of the Audit and Compliance Committee, Finance Committee, Compensation Committee and the Governance Committee, and senior officials including the General Secretary, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer.

Accountability: The right of CONCACAF to audit any Member Association or Union receiving CONCACAF funds for a specific purpose to ensure that such funds are being used for said purpose.

Reforms to CONCACAF’s statutes are intended to bolster the operational changes that have been implemented since July 2015, including:
The implementation of a “pre-approved” vendor system for all contracts with CONCACAF, including credit and background checks for all vendors.

The enactment of a new process to for negotiating and approving all vendor contracts, including sports marketing and sponsor contracts, and new requirements that all contracts pass a conflict-of-interest check, which ensures that no vendor has personal ties to a CONCACAF employee.

The adoption of new protocols so that no single employee of CONCACAF has final say over approving vendors or awarding contracts. All contracts are now required to go through CONCACAF’s operations, legal, and finance departments before approval.

The implementation of standard policies to manage and control cash inflows and outflows to ensure proper controls and transparency.
The introduction of a Partner Code of Conduct to govern partner relations in accordance with the highest standards of ethical conduct, social and environmental responsibility, and compliance with applicable laws.

The introduction of a comprehensive RFP process and hiring of independent consultants to oversee the bidding for the Confederation’s commercial rights, audit counterparties for bribery and fraud, and review internal controls.

The amendments that were shared with CONCACAF Member Associations follow below [PDF here].

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #76 on: January 30, 2016, 10:37:51 AM »
CONCACAF faces reform as Blake faces questions
Cayman News Service




The executive committee of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) has submitted a package of reforms and amendments to its members ahead of the extraordinary congress next month, when they will vote on the new clean-up package. Meanwhile, Bruce Blake, the president of the Cayman Islands Football Association, is facing criticisms over the failure to reform CIFA as it continues to reel from the FIFA scandal and the significant involvement of former CIFA president Jeff Webb in the corruption.

Question marks remain over Blake’s leadership following last year’s controversies surrounding the nomination process at the annual elections as well as questions raised by auditors about CIFA’s books. Blake is also in the firing line over the latest revelations about how cash from FIFA for a new pitch was handled.

During the current trial of Canover Watson evidence has emerged that CIFA funds were embroiled in the alleged hospital corruption case and may have been used by the disgraced former CONCACAF and CIFA president, Jeffrey Webb, to fund his home in Atlanta, where he currently remains under house arrest. Blake, who claims to know nothing about this revelation, recently told the local press he would be working with FIFA to determine the credibility of the claims.

The jury heard that a $250,000 payment was made from CIFA to Black Holdings, a company owned by Peter Campbell, another local football official, which had secured the contract to build the new football pitch funded by FIFA. The cash was then paid into an AIS Cayman Ltd Fidelity bank account controlled by Webb. Watson said that money then went to an account in the US, which his friend and business partner used to buy the Atlanta mansion.

Because of the mounting issues surrounding CIFA, Sports Minister Osbourne Bodden has again called for a thorough independent investigation into the sport association’s dealings over the last fifteen years and for the entire current executive to step down and start with a clean slate of new officials. Last year Bodden pulled the government funding from the association until its house was in order.

Against the backdrop of controversies at home, with more FIFA-related controversies expected on the world stage, Blake will be joining the remaining officials from CONCACAF that are still in post at its congress next month. They will vote on the reforms, which are based on recommendations made by the FIFA reform committee and the CONCACAF reform framework, approved by what was left of the executive committee last summer.

CONCACAF officials said the aim was to separate politics from the business and administration of the game and align the Confederation’s governance and business operations with corporate best practices.

Among the reforms will be the establishment of a council to replace the current executive committee, which will consist of up to fifteen members from each of CONCACAF’s three geographic unions, with a possible requirement for three members to be independent. All candidates for the council, the president, members of committees, judicial bodies and all senior officials will have to undergo eligibility checks to be conducted by an independent ethics committee and there will be a 12-year term limit for members.

Under the proposed reforms there will be reviews of compensation paid to officials and the right to audit any member association receiving cash from CONCACAF. A “pre-approved” vendor system will be implemented for all contracts with CONCACAF, with credit and background checks for all vendors, as well as a new process for negotiating and approving contracts, including those for sponsorship or marketing. Conflict-of-interest checks are expected to improve transparency and accountability.

The adoption of new protocols will ensure that no single employee of CONCACAF has final say contracts. Other new measures proposed include the implementation of standard policies to manage and control cash inflows and outflows, and a Partner Code of Conduct to govern. There will also be a comprehensive request for proposals process and independent consultants to oversee the bidding for commercial rights.

CONCACAF said reforms to the statutes are intended to bolster the operational changes that have already been implemented.
« Last Edit: January 30, 2016, 10:41:44 AM by asylumseeker »

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #77 on: January 30, 2016, 10:51:15 AM »
FIFA, CONCACAF organise successful club licensing seminar in Panama
FIFA.com



Karina Le Blanc makes a statement at the club licensing seminar in Panama.

On 27 and 28 January 2016, FIFA and CONCACAF joined forces to organise a club licensing seminar in Panama for all Member Associations in the CONCACAF region.

The seminar followed the CONCACAF club licensing launch in early 2015, and continues the efforts by the world governing body, the confederation and the national associations to globalise club licensing and establish systems in each corner of the world.

The two-day seminar involved two representatives from each Member Association, including general secretaries, league CEOs and dedicated club licensing managers. Several well-known guests were invited to participate in the seminar, including Karina LeBlanc (recently retired professional footballer with Chicago Red Stars and the Canadian women's national team), Enrique Bonilla (Executive President of Liga MX) and Juan Carlos Rojas Callan (President of Deportivo Saprissa in Costa Rica), in an effort by FIFA to promote stakeholder inclusiveness and lift the level of overall governance. 

This move is in line with the decision by the FIFA Executive Committee to approve a set of proposals by the 2016 FIFA Reform Committee that will be put before the Congress in its extraordinary session on 26 February. In particular, a key point is to promote “Greater transparency and inclusion through broader stakeholder representation: creation of a dedicated Football Stakeholders Committee to include members representing key stakeholders in the game, such as players, clubs and leagues.” In order to compliment and administer the Football Stakeholders Committee, the FIFA Executive Committee also decided to establish a Professional Football Department.

“Professional football starts at the desk,” Bonilla said during the two-day event. “Many in football focus on great coaches, referees and players. You also need great professionals who make the difference every day in organising the leagues. This point needs to be understood by all clubs who are seeking to develop and club licensing is the tool that can nurture this development."

The seminar, which included presentations by FIFA, CONCACAF, Member Associations and key football stakeholders, aimed at clarifying the outlines of the club football structure at national level and presenting a way forward towards greater professionalism in the entire CONCACAF region by using club licensing as a development tool, regardless of the participating country’s size and current development status.

It also extended the consultation process currently being carried out by FIFA with the confederations on reviewing the FIFA Club Licensing Regulations in order to create a club licensing system that ‎is global in nature. The system respects different club football structures that exist in each region, ‎is realistic and flexible enough to be adapted region to region and includes, as well as promotes, women's football. Karina LeBlanc shared this view to the participants, saying “For us athletes, professionalising football is in details – if you want us to be professional athletes, you have to treat us as professionals. Secure and fair employment conditions, proper travel arrangements, and the little things, like ensuring even laundry is done. And for us women athletes, promoting women's football through club licensing means so much more: it’s about giving young girls, 12 or 13 years old, a brighter perspective. Getting them to believe in themselves, that they can become an athlete, an Olympian, and even more – a doctor, a businesswoman, anything they’d like. By including women's football in club licensing, FIFA and CONCACAF are moving ‎in the right direction."

Juan Carlos Rojas weighed in on the benefits of including the club’s perspective in club licensing and, more generally, decision making processes: “The clubs can help governing bodies arrive at better decisions if our views are considered when taking decisions. If we do things right as clubs we can have a huge impact on our community. But we also thought at Saprissa that if we aspired to excellence we could be a really good business too. For instance we have a project in the club that we call “stadium experience”; we want people coming to our stadium to get a wonderful experience, so much so that they want to come back. Security, infrastructure or pricing are all crucial aspects. Understand that people can find other things to do than going to the stadium, so we need to invest in bringing them to us.”

UEFA and the AFC have established successful club licensing systems in Europe and Asia, while over the past 12 months FIFA has prioritised and dedicated its attention to growing club licensing in CONCACAF, CAF, and OFC in order to develop club football on and off the pitch in each region. Club licensing is evolving rapidly in these regions. CONMEBOL is also scheduled to adopt a club licensing system before the end of 2016.
« Last Edit: January 30, 2016, 10:54:09 AM by asylumseeker »

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #78 on: February 09, 2016, 11:02:06 PM »
Cayman CONCACAF offices shuttered
By Brent Fuller, Cayman Compass.




The Cayman Islands CONCACAF president’s offices in George Town closed down on Feb. 1, the Cayman Compass learned this week.

Furniture was being moved out, and the remaining staffer said Monday that she was trying to arrange the sale of some of it.

Operations at the office, on the second and third floors of the George Town Financial Centre (formerly the Admiral Financial Centre), had been slowly scaled back since the May 2015 arrest of then-CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb in connection with the FIFA racketeering and bribery investigation in the U.S. It is believed that CONCACAF has a lease agreement at the building through December 2017.

CONCACAF representatives in Miami were contacted Monday for comment. They confirmed that the former president’s office had been closed, but said a “small presence” would be maintained in Cayman.

“CONCACAF’s operations in the Cayman Islands have been restructured as a result of the closure of the former President’s office,” read the statement from CONCACAF Deputy General Secretary Jurgen Mainka. “However, the confederation still maintains a small presence focusing on specific pan-regional functions, such as broadcasting, tournament execution, member services, and press operations.”

CONCACAF, FIFA’s regional governing body for the Caribbean, North and Central America, has seen its last three presidents – Webb, Jack Warner of Trinidad and Alfredo Hawit of Honduras – arrested and charged in connection with the FIFA probe. Webb pleaded guilty in November to seven counts in the U.S. indictment, including racketeering, money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud conspiracy. Hawit was extradited to the U.S. and was recently released on bond. Warner is fighting extradition from Trinidad.

The agency said late last year, following Hawit’s Dec. 3 arrest in Switzerland, that it would leave the president’s post vacant for the time being and await new internal elections in May 2016 prior to selecting anyone to run the agency.

Following dozens of arrests and criminal charges in the probe of world football’s governing organization, CONCACAF appears to have lost significant funding from FIFA, which announced in early February it put funding for two of its confederations in the Americas – CONCACAF and CONMEBOL – on hold “until further notice.”

CONMEBOL President Juan Angel Napout was also arrested with Hawit in Switzerland on Dec. 3. In addition, CONMEBOL’s past two presidents were also charged in the U.S. investigation of FIFA.

Reuters news service reported at the time that CONCACAF sources indicated the agency had not received US$10 million in FIFA payments, some of which was related to FIFA’s financial assistance program.

Some funds from the global financial assistance program are received by Caribbean national football organizations, including the Cayman Islands. It was not known whether the Cayman Islands Football Association would be directly affected by the funding cut.

« Last Edit: February 10, 2016, 06:49:18 AM by asylumseeker »

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #79 on: February 17, 2016, 03:32:03 PM »

Lawyers warn of serious risks if CONCACAF reforms fail

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20160215/sports/lawyers-warn-of-serious-risks-if-concacaf-reforms-fail


CONCACAF, the corruption-plagued soccer organisation for North and Central America and the Caribbean, could face dramatic consequences, including being disbanded, if it fails to reform, the organisation's lawyers have told its members.

Miami-based CONCACAF, one of the six confederations within FIFA, has been at the centre of the FIFA scandal which has seen 41 individual and entities indicted by the US Department of Justice. The last three presidents of CONCACAF are among those who have been indicted along with former general secretary, American Chuck Blazer. The charges include bribery, money laundering, racketeering and conspiracy.

Trinidadian Jack Warner, who was president of CONCACAF for 21 years until 2011, has been charged by the Department of Justice and is currently fighting extradition to the USA. Representatives of CONCACAF's 41-member associations were given a briefing by the body's lawyers in Miami on Friday where they were urged to back a comprehensive reform package which will be voted on later this month.

The lawyers warned of difficulties with broadcast partners, sponsors and banks, FIFA itself and the risk of government action if change is not enacted. CONCACAF is currently viewed as a victim by the Department of Justice and is conducting an internal investigation in coordination with the department. But the legal presentation, a copy of which has been seen by Reuters, warned the members that they risked losing that status if they did not enact changes.

“Without reform CONCACAF risks — criminal convictions or deferred/non prosecution agreement; disbanding CONCACAF as an organisation, freezing of accounts and/or forfeiture of CONCACAF assets; US government imposing a Monitor to closely regulate CONCACAF compliance with anti-corruption laws for up to five years or more,” read the presentation.

The members were also reminded that they risked losing access to forfeited funds, potentially in the millions, if CONCACAF does not retain its status as 'victim'. Among the cases involving CONCACAF officials are a series of broadcasting and sports marketing deals that included kickbacks and bribes.

Since the arrest of Warner's replacement as CONCACAF president, Jeffrey Webb, on May 27, the organisation has terminated all media rights agreements with Traffic Sports and Datisa, two of the companies that feature in the indictments. CONCACAF has also ended 18 “bogus vendor relationships”, the lawyers said.

A series of changes to the organisation's statutes, including term limits and the introduction of independent members of oversight committees, will be put to the vote.

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #80 on: February 18, 2016, 01:54:06 PM »
CONCACAF drops kickback lawsuit: Settles out of court with travel firm
By James Whittaker, Cayman Compass.


Regional soccer governing body CONCACAF has dropped its lawsuit against California travel company Cartan Tours, which it accused of paying kickbacks to its former president Jeffrey Webb to secure a lucrative business arrangement.

The lawsuit has been settled out of court without any money changing hands, both parties confirmed this week.

The agreement ends the business relationship between CONCACAF and Cartan, which had an exclusive contract to provide travel, accommodation and event planning for the organization’s many tournaments, events and meetings.

CONCACAF had alleged in the original suit that this contract was the result of a corrupt agreement between Webb, his general secretary Enrique Sanz and the Los Angeles based travel firm.

It said the “clandestine, kickback-based and parasitic relationship” had left the organization saddled with a one-sided contract that allowed Cartan to use the soccer confederation as a “cash cow.”

Cartan denied any wrongdoing, saying the allegations were irresponsible and unfounded and were designed to put pressure on the company to renegotiate the terms of its exclusive contract.

A spokeswoman for the firm said in December it would be asserting its own claim for damages against CONCACAF.

However, the two parties have now agreed to settle their differences out of court, in an agreement that CONCACAF says ends the business relationship.

CONCACAF declined to release details of the settlement Tuesday but said, in a statement, that it would save millions of dollars as a result.

“CONCACAF is very pleased to have resolved all issues concerning the complaint filed against Cartan Tours, Inc. and other associated defendants on Dec. 22, 2015.

“The settlement will save CONCACAF millions of dollars and allow the Confederation to continue to move forward from the misconduct of past management to focus on football and governance reforms.”

In its own statement, Cartan said both parties had agreed to “release the claims they asserted against each other in pending proceedings.”

The spokeswoman for the company said, “Neither side made any payment to the other in connection with the settlement.”

In the original lawsuit filed against Cartan and its affiliates, CONCACAF alleged that kickbacks were paid to Webb in the form of a “fictitious gift” to the Cayman Islands Football Association’s Center of Excellence.

CIFA received matching $600,000 loans from Cartan and another company Forward Sports, signed by its then general secretary Bruce Blake, ostensibly for work on the Prospect field.

In the case of Cartan, the lawsuit alleged this was not a gift, but payback to Webb for helping orchestrate an “outrageously lucrative agreement” for the company with CONCACAF.

“Cartan never provided any material amount of services to CIFA, nor did Cartan widely publicize its fictitious charitable gift – which is what typically would be expected of a corporate sponsor,” the lawsuit alleged. “That is because it was not a gift at all, but yet another form of graft and illicit dealing between [the lawsuit defendants] and Webb.”

Mr. Blake, now acting president of CIFA, has acknowledged he signed the loan agreements, but had no part in the negotiations over the loans.

He said he believed they were to be loans to CIFA to assist with paying down on its loan with Fidelity Bank.

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #81 on: February 18, 2016, 01:59:53 PM »
CFU chief Gordon Derrick steps up to challenge for CONCACAF presidency
By Paul Nicholson, Inside World Football.


A fourth candidate has announced that he will run for the vacant presidency of the regional governing body for the north and central Americas and Caribbean, CONCACAF. Gordon Derrick, president of the Caribbean Football Union since 2012, has thrown his hat into the ring.

Derrick's entry, if not unexpected, brings a different complexion to the election, coming from the heart of Caribbean football, traditionally the power brokers in the region with their 31 member votes out of a total of 41 votes in the confederation.

He will be up against Canadian FA president Victor Montagliani, and two other contenders from the Caribbean; Bermudan FA president Larry Mussenden (currently on duty in Zurich hearing the appeals of Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter) and businessman and Guyana U20s Women's coach Mark Rodriguez.

Derrick came to prominence in the CFU taking over from Jack Warner following the cash for votes scandal in the Caribbean when Warner supported Mohammed Bin Hammam for the FIFA presidency.

In a letter to national federations Derrick acknowledges the troubled position CONCACAF finds itself in. "CONCACAF is scandal-tarnished," he says. "The reputational damage threatens the commercial viability of football, undermines confidence in administrators, unfairly impacts players and officials and has turned off supporters."

But he says this is a situation he has been through before as an administrator and that he knows how to come out the other side: "I came to office amid the first wave of scandal in football, which unfolded at the level of the CFU. The Caribbean, in this regard, was ahead of the curve, instituting complete reforms four years ago. I know firsthand that effecting change is no easy feat."

Derrick has been a member of the CONCACAF Statutes Reform Committee and a key player in the final draft reforms that will go before the confederation's extraordinary general meeting in Zurich on February 25, ahead of the Extraordinary FIFA Congress the following day. CONCACAF will vote for a new president in May at their annual Congress in Mexico City.

Reflecting a background that saw him represent Antigua and Barbuda as a player, Derrick's proposals for the confederation have a strong emphasis on developing playing opportunities across the region under his campaign banner 'A time to build up'.

Included in a list of 11 commitments are promises to: "Develop Women's football at the institutional and sporting levels; to develop and support Grassroots initiatives with laser-like focus on female and youth programmes; and Infrastructural development across the countries."

He also signals a shift in the way regional funding is allocated "to design equitable development programs based on need".

Perhaps the most basic commitment he makes is the one that this region probably needs to demonstrate it respects more than any other: "Fidelity to the CONCACAF Constitution".

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #82 on: March 05, 2016, 10:22:02 AM »
Mexico is said to be considering a bid for the 2026 WC.

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #83 on: March 05, 2016, 03:10:54 PM »
Mexico is said to be considering a bid for the 2026 WC.

Welcome news ...... but ....
« Last Edit: March 05, 2016, 03:12:48 PM by Deeks »

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #84 on: March 09, 2016, 11:29:36 AM »
Mexico is said to be considering a bid for the 2026 WC.

Welcome news ...... but ....

Long time from now?

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #85 on: March 09, 2016, 11:34:37 AM »
Loans, gifts and graft: CIFA and CONCACAF’s Panama connections
By Michael Klein, Cayman Compass




A Panamanian company set up by Canover Watson that was allegedly used to receive a $1.1 million bribe payment from Traffic Sports to Jeffrey Webb is the same entity that had a controversial $600,000 loan agreement with the Cayman Islands Football Association, documents reveal.

Forward Sports International Management Inc. granted a $600,000 unsecured loan to CIFA, according to the loan agreement dated Dec. 31, 2013.

The agreement, which was signed by Bruce Blake on behalf of CIFA and nominee company secretary Irina Abrego de Espinosa on behalf of Forward Sports International, included a seven-year repayment plan at an interest rate of 1 percent above U.S. prime, or 4.25 percent.

In 2015 the loan was controversially re-designated by the Cayman Islands Football Association as a “gift” from Forward Sports. As a result, CIFA’s audit firm Rankin Berkower refused to sign off on the football association’s financial accounts and reported the case to police.

Pakistan-based Forward Sports is one of the largest manufacturers of footballs in the world and maker of the Brazuca, the football used in the 2014 World Cup Finals.

Shakeel Khawaja, who at the time was a global sales manager for Forward Sports (pvt) Ltd., Sialkot, Pakistan, told The Cayman Islands Journal that Watson had helped set up a company in Panama under the Forward name with the objective of using the entity as a distribution company for Forward Sports products in Central America and the Caribbean.

However, Khawaja says he was not aware until late 2014 that in addition to Forward Sports Inc., Watson had created a related entity, Forward Sports International Management. Khawaja claims he never made a payment to CIFA and was not aware of such a payment. He also says he never had signature authority over the company’s bank accounts.

Emails from Watson to Asiaciti Trust, the corporate service provider that set up the companies, show that Watson instructed the Panamanian nominee directors of the entities and received their invoices. Watson is also named on Asiaciti’s internal company application form for Forward Sports as the main contact person, but his name does not appear as a director or shareholder.

Instead, stock certificates show the shareholders of Forward Sports Inc. are Shakeel Khawaja (51 percent) and Green Day Foundation (49 percent), an entity that Khwaja says he was unaware of until he requested the company’s constituting documents from Watson in November 2014.

An organizational structure generated by service provider Asiaciti shows Green Day Foundation was created using two Asiaciti entities, Latam Foundation Services Inc. and Latam Council Services, respectively, as founder and foundation council, presumably in an effort to preserve the anonymity of the owner or owners.

However, Watson informed Khawaja in a phone conversation in August 2015 that he [Watson] is the owner of Green Day, Khawaja claims. He says, until then Watson had acted as if he was representing the interests of other investors.

Traffic Sports alleged bribe for Jeffrey Webb

Panama-based company Forward Sports appears also to be implicated in the indictment of former CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb, as the entity that received a $1.1 million bribe payment for Webb from Traffic Sports.

The superseding indictment of Webb alleges he instructed former CONCACAF General Secretary Enrique Sanz to solicit a bribe from Traffic Sports for the award of a $15.5 million contract for the exclusive worldwide commercial rights for the 2013 edition of the Gold Cup and the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons of the CONCACAF Champions League.

When Webb and Sanz discussed the best ways to effectuate the bribe payment, the indictment alleges, Webb decided to use an overseas company that manufactured soccer uniforms and soccer balls. It noted a close associate of Webb, co-conspirator #24, had a connection to “Soccer Uniform Company A.”

“Webb eventually instructed [Sanz] to submit a false invoice to Traffic USA for $1.1 million to be paid to Soccer Uniform Company A, which [Sanz] did,” the indictment alleges.

“On or about December 4, 2013, the $1.1 million bribe payment for Jeffrey Webb was made by wire transfer from Traffic International’s account at Delta National Bank & Trust in Miami, to a Wells Fargo correspondent account in New York, New York, for credit to an account in the name of Soccer Uniform Company A at Capital Bank in Panama City, Panama.”

Forward Sports (Panama), which was created on the instruction of Watson, had an account with Capital Bank, according to an organizational structure diagram generated by Asiaciti.

Co-conspirator #24 is described in the indictment as a high-ranking official of one of FIFA’s national member associations, an official of FIFA and CFU, and a businessman. Watson was the treasurer of the Cayman Islands Football Association at the time Forward Sports in Panama loaned $600,000 to CIFA. He was also a vice president of the Caribbean Football Union and a member of FIFA’s Audit and Compliance Committee.

Football connections

Khawaja says he met Watson and Blake, the CIFA vice president at the time, in May 2012 after the FIFA Congress in Budapest. Both Watson and Blake “showed great interest” in purchasing footballs, shirts and other sporting goods from Forward Sports for the grassroots programs of CIFA and the Caribbean Football Union.

At a presentation later that year in London set up to inspect samples of the customized products, Watson and Blake wanted to arrange free deliveries in the form of sponsorship agreements with CIFA and CFU, Khawaja claims.
When he informed them that the company’s finances would not allow for that, Khawaja says, Watson promised orders of $750,000 per year from CFU and Blake promised $150,000 in purchases of goods per year from CIFA for the period of the sponsorship agreement.

“These promises were not kept,” Khawaja says.

Instead of the $2.7 million the company budgeted for over the three years, it made only $800,000. According to unaudited accounts for Forward Sports Inc., which was renamed Gol Sports Management in July 2014, the company did pay more than $150,000 in cash sponsorships and more than $200,000 in equipment sponsorships between July 2013 and October 2014 to various football associations across the Caribbean, including Cayman.

For instance, Forward Sports entered into a $100,000 cash sponsorship with the Central American Football Association (UNCAF) on the recommendation of Watson, the company’s former sales manager says. This sponsorship agreement further included the supply of sportswear and sporting equipment for a retail value of $120,000 per year.

According to Khawaja, Blake and Watson put Forward Sports in contact with a local company to sell football shirts of the Cayman Islands National Team, footballs and other fan merchandise on island to generate extra revenue, and Watson later became involved in setting up companies under the name Forward Sports.

He says, “In October 2012, Mr. Watson suggested to establish a distribution company in Cayman under the name Forward Sports to distribute CIFA and CFU replica products to Cayman and the entire Caribbean region. Because we did not have the financial means for the startup, I asked Mr. Watson if he could find an investor who would be a partner and 49 percent shareholder, as well as managing director for the company.”

Watson promised he would take care of it, and during Khawaja’s next visit to Cayman in 2012, he was presented with photocopies of the memorandum and articles of association and the certificate of incorporation of a Cayman company named Forward Sports International. He also received the minutes of the first meeting of the board of directors, the register of directors and officers and the register of members.

The problem, according to Khawaja, was that the constituting documents were drafted without his consent and knowledge. When he inspected the documents, he found that in addition to himself, Joscelyn Morgan was named as a company director and shareholder. “This happened without my consent or knowledge,” Khawaja says.

“The constituting documents were compiled without my consent and knowledge. I was not aware that a certificate of incorporation had been issued. The minutes of the meeting were compiled without my knowledge or consent. There is no date on the document. It mentions incorrectly that I had participated in a telephone conference. That was not the case.”

When he complained about these issues to Watson, Khawaja says, Watson assured him that he “need not worry” because it was “only necessary for the paperwork” and “had no legal implications for [Khawaja].”

Forward Sports Cayman was incorporated on Nov. 15, 2012, with its registered office at Admiral Financial Centre – Canover Watson’s office. One day later, Forward Sports signed a sponsorship agreement with the Caribbean Football Union, the organization for which Watson acted as a vice president.

The sponsorship agreement with the Cayman Islands Football Association was concluded one month earlier in October 2012.

The whereabouts of Joscelyn Morgan, the director of Forward Sports International (Cayman), are unknown. He left the Cayman Islands in 2014 and is wanted for questioning by police in connection with an investigation into Advanced Integrated Systems Ltd., another Cayman company, which prosecutors allege was a front for Watson’s and Webb’s interests in a

Cayman Islands public healthcare contract known as CarePay.
Watson and Webb were accused of jointly siphoning millions of dollars from the CarePay contract.

In the CarePay case, it was alleged that Morgan and another close Webb associate, Eldon Rankin, were used as “sham” frontmen to cover up the involvement of Webb and Watson in AIS Cayman.

Watson informed Khawaja in an email on Nov. 3, 2014, that “Forward Sports Cayman Islands was not active – never started operations as we decided to set up in Panama instead.”

Khawaja acknowledges that the Panamanian entity was set up as a distribution company for Forward mainly to sell UNCAF replica products in those markets, but he says that he did he know anything about the loan agreement with CIFA until he was informed about it by the company’s auditors last year, nor does he know where the $600,000 for the loan to the Cayman Islands Football Association came from and whether the amount of the loan was actually paid out.

The loan scheme

The Forward Sports loan mirrors a similar $600,000 loan by another Panamanian company, Cartan International Inc. This loan had the same terms as the Forward Sports loan and was signed on the same day, Dec. 31, 2013, by the same people – Blake on behalf of CIFA and Abrego on behalf of Cartan.

The companies Forward Sports Inc., Forward Sports International Management, Green Day Foundation, Cartan International Inc. and Cartan International Management Inc. were all set up at the same time, around May 23, 2013, using the same organizational structure and the same nominee directors.

CONCACAF sued Cartan’s parent company Cartan Tours and related entities Elmore Sports Group and iSports Marketing, as well as the company’s owner, David Elmore, and former sales manager and executive vice president Daniel Gamba in December 2015. CONCACAF alleged that Cartan obtained a contract to arrange all of the football confederation’s travel and event logistics at inflated prices because “it had a secret deal with Webb and Sanz to pay them off.”

Panama’s company register reveals that Gamba and Elmore are named as directors of Cartan International but not of Cartan International Management, effectively replicating the setup of Forward Sports that saw Khawaja as a director of Forward Sports Inc. but not of Forward Sports International Management Inc.

According to the CONCACAF writ, “Elmore admitted to the auditors [of CIFA] that Cartan made a charitable donation of $600,000 to CIFA in 2013, but apparently denied any affiliation with Cartan International, a company incorporated in Panama on May 23, 2013.

“Elmore further stated that Cartan does not have an account or office location in Panama, but that the money was wired from a U.S. bank account,” CONCACAF stated.

Neither the Cartan nor the Forward Sports sponsorship was ever publicized, as would be typical in these circumstances.

CIFA’s financial statements also did not name the companies that extended the loan, even after the loan was re-designated as a gift, mentioning only “two private companies” that are “strategic partners.”

In its writ, CONCACAF claimed “that is because it was not a gift at all, but yet another form of graft and illicit dealing between defendants and Webb.”

In Forward’s case, another possibility could be that the $600,000 loan to CIFA was related to the $1.1 million alleged bribe payment from Traffic to Webb that, according to the U.S. indictment of the former CONCACAF president, was allegedly paid to the Panamanian soccer uniform maker.

In February, CONCACAF and Cartan settled their lawsuit out of court. Webb pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, three counts of wire fraud conspiracy and three counts of money laundering conspiracy in November 2015. He is awaiting sentencing in the United States.

The loans to CIFA are still under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Unit of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.

Watson was sentenced to seven years in prison in February after he was found guilty of five of six criminal charges in connection with the CarePay hospital contract investigation. He has filed an appeal in the case.

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #86 on: March 09, 2016, 11:49:00 AM »
Attack mode
Barbados Today


Wharton Going Affter Harris' job on Sunday



Barbados’ senior team football manager Fabian Wharton is challenging Randy Harris’ presidency of the Barbados Football Association (BFA).

And today (Tuesday/yesterday) at a media briefing held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Center, Wharton painted a litany of woes as the reasons why he should replace the long-serving football administrator at the helm of the BFA.

He described Harris’ tenure as one of incompetence, financial mismanagement and draconian dictatorship. The presidential candidate gave a brief synopsis of how he proposed to right the perceived wrongs hindering the development of football in Barbados. Wharton pointed to mounting debt which he placed at more than $700 000, poorly organised women’s and youth leagues and the undervaluing of ‘Out of Season’ tournaments as areas of major concern.

“For the past four years the BFA has become a rudderless ship with a lack of vision, no accountability, financial madness and general lack of professionalism. We have a president that seems to believe that the organisation belongs to him. Football is owned by all of us…We must understand that as administrators we have a social responsibility to ensure that we do not put any prohibitive measures in place like stopping all out-of-season football, essentially creating an environment where our young people become idle,” Wharton charged.

He added: “What we need to do instead of using these draconian measures such as stopping the out-of-season tournaments, we need to find a way to embrace all of these organs.”

Wharton revealed a number of short to medium term plans that he said would fix the financial haemorrhaging he claimed occurred despite the BFA receiving $2.2 million from FIFA. These measures,  he suggested, would lead to eventual implementation of the long-term goal of transforming the premier league into a semi-professional one.

“If you look at St. Kitts, Antigua, even look at Guyana with the December tournament, these are things that the other islands are doing and it is said that Barbados is supposed to be one of the strongest countries in the region with the best brains in the region. So why are we lagging so far behind with regards to development of the game especially at the senior level?” queried the longstanding Brittons Hill team manager.

Wharton also took aim at the BFA for last year’s embarrassment of fielding a player in a World Cup qualifier who was ineligible to play because of suspension.

“We have a situation where persons are still sitting in the BFA despite being responsible for the recent World Cup fiasco. Everybody treated the World Cup disaster as if it was a minor situation. How can you explain to a group of young men that trained so hard that an administrative error cost them the opportunity to not be seen by international scouts, cost them an opportunity to continue to represent their country? They (BFA administration) have effectively embarrassed the nation and left a stain on Barbados’ football.”

Wharton currently has the endorsement of BFA treasurer candidate, Adrian Mapp, as well as first vice-president candidate, Jabez “Jack” Bovell.

However, Wharton’s chances of replacing Harris at this Sunday’s election of officers appear slim to none.

Today Barbados TODAY was informed that this was perhaps the first time in the history of the BFA where a candidate was seeking the presidency of the organisation and had no endorsement or backing from any member of that body’s executive council. Neither Mapp nor Bovell is on the BFA’s executive council.

A BFA source also revealed that far from financial mismanagement, that under Harris there had been a marked improvement in financial accountability and record-keeping at every level of the association’s operations since he took up office in 2012.

The source pointed to a number of initiatives introduced by Harris to improve women’s football and the increase of participants at various age-group levels. The BFA source also highlighted the increased training for officials in several levels of the sport, as well as closer interaction between clubs and the association and efforts to facilitate them with computer technology.

“Harris has the backing of the executive council and the general membership and has been doing an excellent job. Wharton’s mission is a mystery,” the source noted.

Contacted today about Wharton’s charges, Harris said he would respond to all of his allegations on Sunday at the BFA elections. (WG/CM)

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #87 on: March 09, 2016, 11:55:49 AM »
Contract inked for second phase of SKN FIFA’s Goal Project
SKNVibes.com


BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE development of a Technical Center for Football in St. Kitts and Nevis is taking shape as the local Football Association has seen the completion of the first phase of the FIFA Goal Project.

On Saturday last (Mar. 5), officials from the for SKNFA, FIFA’s representative Howard Mackintosh and contractor Lennox Warner took local media representatives on a guided tour of the completed aspects of the facility, which is located in St. Peter’s.

“For us, the Goal Project is a very, very important project as far as the sport of football is concerned here in St. Kitts and Nevis,” SKNFA President Anthony Johnson said. “Of course it is not yet fully completed but we thought that it was important to give you the members of the media and also members of the clubs a tour so that you can see the progress that has been made so far.”

The officials also used that time to sign a contract to commence construction of the second phase, which will see the completion of the entire facility and the development of a playing facility adjacent to the technical center.

According to the FIFA’s representative, the contract for phase two is US$600,000.

“We have had an excellent relationship with phase one and we are continuing with the consultant and the contractor,” Mackintosh disclosed.

Phase one of the project, which started some eight months ago, was also funded by FIFA to the tune of US$500,000, SKNVibes Sports was told.

The first phase saw the development of the complex and the building which will house the referees department; a conference room; training facility (gym); a security area; and also an area to host visiting teams, clubs and match officials.


Officials Tour Training Complex Site
ZIZ News


Football officials have given the media an early look at new training facilities under construction at St. Peters.

The building falls under the Fifa Goal Project, and Howard McIntosh of Fifa’s Development Office explained the purpose of the site.

“The Fifa Goal Programme is a programme designed to ensure that all member associations, and we have 209, have the opportunity to have a technical home and an administrative home, and then look at the infrastructural development in the country. As you may be aware, the St. Kitts Nevis Football Association has an administrative home and now this will be the technical home,” he said.

McIntosh said the SKNFA’s performance over the years was one factor that led Fifa to support this project.

SKNFA President Anthony Johnson spoke of some of the recent achievements.

“Initiatives such as player insurance. For the very first time in our history all of the players in the Premier League are insured. And we’re not just speaking about the players, but the coaches as well. We have for the first time, over the past few years, started a Female League. Last year the National Team travelled to Europe and became the first Caribbean team to defeat a European team on European soil,” he said.

The facility is entering its second phase of development and following the tour Mr. McIntosh signed a contract to complete the project

While in St. Kitts Mr. McIntosh was also scheduled to meet with government representatives to discuss partnerships that would further the development of football in the country.





« Last Edit: March 09, 2016, 12:00:33 PM by asylumseeker »

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Re: CONCACAF News Thread
« Reply #88 on: March 09, 2016, 12:15:45 PM »
Digicel, platinum partner for Super League 2016
Digicel Press Release




The region’s leading telecommunications provider, Digicel, on Wednesday revealed a new and ground breaking partnership in national sports development in St. Lucia.

Digicel has partnered with Vizions Entertainment in the presentation of the Super League Football Competition 2016. At a press launch held on Wednesday March 2nd at the National Cultural Centre, Digicel pledged its commitment as Platinum Sponsors to the league.

Super League brings many innovations to the football arena in St. Lucia. The tournament standards have been set based on International standards of decorum and discipline which included strict adherence to dress code by teams and coaches, support for the Feed the Poor Programme, educational scholarships to young promising players among others.

Director of Vizions Entertainment, Mr. Didus Fedee spoke of the organizations commitment to contributing significantly to the development of the sport in St. Lucia through the league.

“Recognizing that the knockout format of football does little to contribute to the overall development of the sport as not enough is being played, this year the competition will be changed to a Round-Robin format. Teams will therefore be divided into four groups and will compete on a round robin basis. This format will also foster greater development of the players’ skills, technique, discipline and overall self-development through the game. ”

Marketing and Communications Executive at Digicel, Miss Louise Victor who delivered remarks at the press launch said “Digicel remains committed to contributing to national sports and youth development in every way. Under our Be Extraordinary philosophy we believe in celebrating and promoting the extraordinary talent that lies within the young people of our country, in this case our young men.

This investment however is beyond just an investment in sports but it is also aligned to our philosophy of youth development and contributing to changing lives in everyday in every way. We are cognizant of the impact that such programmes like Super League have specifically at the grass root level and as a corporate citizen with a deep social consciousness we affirm our commitment to continue investing in youth and sports development in St. Lucia. “

Digicel encourages St. Lucians’, sports fanatics, football lovers and persons within the communities to come out in full support of their teams and to witness “football at another level.”

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