Jeff Webb officially elected president of CONCACAF
(CNS): Updated — Cayman’s local football boss was unanimously elected president of CONCACAF Wednesday morning at the FIFA congress in Budapest, where he received a standing ovation for his acceptance speech. Jeff Webb attracted support from 40 countries to take up the regional football body’s top post and ran unopposed. Webb, who is president of the Cayman Islands Football Association (CIFA), succeeds Jack Warner as president of the sport’s governing body in North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF). Warner quit last June 20 during a corruption investigation by FIFA.
Webb has overtwenty years in leadership positions in football, as president of the CIFA, FIFA Executive Committee (observer), chairman of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Normalisation Committee, member of the FIFA Transparency and Compliance Committee, deputy chairman of the FIFA Internal Audit Committee, and chairman of the CONCACAF Youth Committee.
Following Webb’s election a listof financial mismanagement allegations against former CONCACAF leaders, Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer, were outlined to officials at the congress. Blazer, who is said to be unwell, was not at the Budapest meeting when the audit of CONCACAF's finances was revealed. Blazer's 10 percent commissions on television and sponsorship deals, paid to an offshore company, helped push CONCACAF's staff costs to $9 million from an income of $38 million last year, according to the audit. Webb said he was "shell-shocked, dismayed and mad" as John Collins unveiled details of the alleged financial mismanagement discovered after a five month investigation into the regional footballing body’s finances.
Warner left FIFA in disgrace last year, but Blazer is still CONCACAF's representative on FIFA's executive committee but following a motion from the Bermuda delegate, the Congress voted that he should be removed from FIFA's executive. The vote is not binding on FIFA, however, as only the world governing body can remove an official from the executive, but it was carried by a majority of 34 delegates with only two voting against. A succession of delegates demanded a commission of inquiry, the wholesale removal of CONCACAF's executive committee, as well as action against Blazer.
Collins also revealed that he had discovered that the $22.5m Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence in Trinidad is not owned by CONCACAF as members believed but by two companies owned by former president Warner. Collins warned Congress that attempts to reclaim the property or its value might be compromised by other legal actions outstanding against the Centre of Excellence.
Webb told the congress that one early cost saving measure under consideration was ending the $1m-a-year rental of the confederation's offices in Trump Tower in New York's Fifth Avenue and he promised to call an Extraordinary Congress later this year when full financial reports and assessments of liabilities would be available.
The new president vowed to concentrate on the game and promised a shift from "politics and economics" to football, adding that CONCACAF nations should work on improving soccer and strive to win the World Cup in 2026.
Category: Sports
My sincere Congratulations to you, Jeff! I am proud of your achievements and know that you will excel in this position with humble integrity! You are a shining example of what our leaders in the LA should be but sadly are not. My best wishes to you for a successful and rewarding experience as the President of CONCACAF!!!
Guess Jeff won't have time now to fix the roof on The Captains Bakery. Shame. It is such an architectural asset to West Bay Road
Congrats Jeff and great to see a Caymanian get such a prominent role in FIFA. I know you'll have a lot of work to do in trying to get CONCACAF in the right direction as corruption and poor leadership has done much damage yet I'm positive you'll do a good job. Now please try to promote football in Cayman and get our standards to a higher level, we need major improvements as things have gone backwards since 1995. A semi professional league and promoting grassroot programmes will help our youth to look at football as a career either as a player, a coach or in a director position.
Congrats Jeff. Hold your head high and continue to do us proud. Our young men need more positive role models like you.
Great! What will be the improvements to CIFA/ Cayman football as a consequence ?
We still need a U19, U20 boys and National Team programme
and leagues for the girls!
Congrats Mr. Webb!
This is major for you and our country … thank you for the hard work and dedication from which we are all certain to benefit in some way.
Wow … a Caymanian is actually a Vice President of FIFA!
This is quite an achievement … makes one want to try even harder.
🙂
Trust that Football would improve here in the Cayman Islands with him in such a HIGH POSITION.
We are proud of you Jeff! Your Mom would have been extremely proud of you! Carry out your duties with pride yet humbly and above all with dignity!
i hope his new position create news jobs & buisness for caymanians and keep the crime rate down. congrats Jeff!
Well Jeff the Ball is at your feet. Go and score for Cayman and the Region. Good Luck and 'Walk good'
Now lets see how many of our own Caymanians will tear him down!
Congrats Jeff!! It's so good to see Caymanians excelling! Don't worry about those who seek to put you down. Hold your head high and feel proud.
This is a good today for the people of the Cayman Islands.
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last 12 months, you'll know that being elected to high office witin FIFA is not a sign of competence or probity. Good day for the people of the Cayman Islands ! That remains to be seen. Jack Warner made sure that the Trinidad and Tobago FA existed to feather his own nest and Horace Burrell made the Jamaican FA a laughing stock by its failure to sanction him, even when FIFA was prepared to do so (albeit by only slapping his wrist). Will Jeff Webb be any different ? XXXX
One Caymanian to another: Congratulations, Jeff. All the best to you.
Congrats Mr. Webb on your new post.
Well done Jeff!
Congrats Jeff.