Football body in talks to locate HQ in Cayman

| 26/04/2013

(CNS): The Cayman Islands Government has signed an MOU with the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) to give formal approval to discussions between the two parties over the possible re-location of the HQ to Cayman. With local Jeff Webb currently president of the body government hopes that if can attract the confederation to set up shop in this jurisdiction which will, the sports minister said, offer tremendous opportunities for Cayman. This could also see the Cayman Islands host some of CONCACAF’s conferences and congresses and even some sports tournaments with the potential to attract hundreds of delegates and competitors.

Cayman will also get international media exposure and hopefully more access to football scholarships for young local players boosting the domestic game.

Mark Scotland said that there are already some Caymanians now employed here by the confederation working with Webb and here would be more if the body was to set up shop here. He said the MOU will present an excellent opportunity for Cayman to try and capitalize on the connection with the regional sports body.

Scotland said that government did not really have to offer any major concessions to the confederation but some security regarding staff and flexibility with work-permits for international staff that need to come and go as a result of the nature of the organisation.

Scotland said CONCACAF wasn’t asking for much and it was Cayman that was keen to persuade them that this is the right location for the HQ which is currently in New York. The minister explained government intended to encourage the move as much as possible and the MOU mostly related to the actual establishment of the federation here, adding that it was an agreement to begin talks but to have the headquarters here would be a tremendous boost for sports tourism and Cayman in general.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Wow

    All this crappy news about Jeff @ FIFA hits me like a ton of bricks!!

    What about the shameful local football ??

  2. Anonymous says:

    I hope CIMA does a good job with the "Know Your Customer" details.

  3. Far Canal says:

    They can headquarter it at the National Training Centre that CIFA received all the FIFA grants for. …………..

  4. Anonymous says:

    FIFA is rich and loaded so don’t give any concessions. We are a tax neutral jurisdiction so don’t give financial concessions in any form

  5. Anonymous says:

    what a boring game. Play a real sport like Rugby

    • Anonymous says:

      Capitals.  Learn how to use them.  Then people will take you more seriously.

  6. Chris Johnson says:

    This is wonderful news for Cayman with one proviso. Can someone do an audit to ensure that the local body is not involved in the worldwide FIFA corruption that has taken place over the past few years. It is my understanding that additional news reporting will allege Cayman is not exactly squeaky clean. The last thing we need is another financial scandal.

    • Anonymous says:

      It's FIFA.  It is the most corrupt organisation there is.  This can only lead to bad publicity for Cayman.

    • Anonymous says:

      Chris…

      .Cayman has ALREADY been implicated in the Mohammed Ben Hamim bribery scandal when it was reported in the world's football press that David Frederick, CIFA's vice-president at the time, had accepted and received one of the notorious envelopes of 40K in cash….whether with or without the knowledge of Jeffrey Webb and CIFA (the body corporate) has never been established as Webb retired Frederick and Cayman's local press has played the '3 wise monkeys' on the issue….ask no questions, you hear no lies.

      Also, Austin 'Jack' Warner, the former CONCACAF president from Trinidad has been revealing some juicy details about FIFA's president Sepp Blatter, the man who kicked him out of FIFA, about how Blatter was originally elected as FIFA president….and alleged bribes and pay-offs for CONCACAF votes for presidential elections.

      He has also had a swipe at Jeffrey Webb, without openly accusing Webb of anything specific, suggesting that Webb owes his elevation in the FIFA and CONCACAF ranks to him, Warner and that Cayman would not even be a member of FIFA if not for him.

      Those of us who are heavily involved in football outside the Cayman Islands know that much of what he says regarding himself and Webb is basically true…Webb…and Captain Horace Burrell of Jamaica has ridden Jack Warner's back to high positions in both CONCACAF and FIFA….and now that he is out of the picture, has basically stepped into his shoes.

      Having CONCACAF's headquarters in Cayman will bring no additional benefits to Cayman's local football….what this plan is about is having CONCACAF based in a non tax jurisdiction for the obvious tax-related benefits.

      Minister Scotland needs to do his homework before supporting such a move blindly, based on anything Jeffrey Webb will tell him.

      Many local football people in Cayman found out way too late what it meant to trust Webb blindly in football matters….Cayman's Government does not need to make the same mistakes.

      • Anonymous says:

        Dear Anonymous

        It is easy to make comment when you are not aware of the facts. First and foremost Mr. Webb has been commended worldwide as an Ambassador and a Statesmen for his integrity and the reforms instituted in CONCACAF. CONCACAF has just held its Congress in Panama, attended by Mr. Scotland, where quite revolutionary an Integrity report commissioned by the body headed by Sir David Simmons was not only announced but a copy was put on the internet for all to see. CONCACAF's lawyers are now, Sidley Austin at Mr. Webb's appointment, and the Auditors are BDO, both professional organizations of the highest standard. Mr. Webb is showing the world how football should be run. To deny him an office in his own country and the vast number of jobs and benefits that go along with that is not only ridiculous but crazy. 

        • A who dat deh? says:

          Said Anonymous…

        • Anonymous says:

          Dear Anonymous 29/4/13  16.37

           

          You must be Webb's and CONCACAF's public relations officer…or some other staunch supporter who is carrying out that role on their behalf.

          You obviously don't know the inner workings of CONCACAF and FIFA like some others of us do…and if you take their press releases as gospel, then you REALLY don't know jack sh*t, to be honest.

          I will agree that Jeffrey Webb HAS been elected to clean up CONCACAF after all the scandal that has…and still IS swirling around the organization, particularly fuelled by its former president and colleague of Webb, Austin 'Jack' Warner.

          When Warner was in his heyday, 10-15 years ago, Webb was a junior member of the 'boy's club' that is FIFA and CONCACAF administrator clique, both in age and experience.

          That is no longer the case and in real terms, as Warner stated on this very forum under his cyber name 'Soca Warrior' it says a lot for the  process that a football administrator from a little football non-entity country like the Cayman Islands could rise to the positions within FIFA and CONCACAF that Webb has done (I hope you get the sarcasm intended) but Warner should know all about that.

          Webb has never been associated with personal corruption in football, to my knowledge, and I can ASSURE you that my knowledge is deeper and broader than yours in football matters at the highest level.

          In the case of the Ben Hamim bribery scandal and David Frederick receiving 40k in cash, Webb or CIFA HAS NEVER been questioned publicly in Cayman's press to explain the matter, partly stemming from the fact that most people in Cayman only know about WORLD football matters what Webb CHOOSES to tell them….and if that is good enough for them, they will have to settle for that.

          As far as CONCACAF offices being established in Cayman, this is a purely administrative move and will result in NO SIGNIFICANT job or opportunity increases for ANYONE in Cayman outside of Jeffrey Webb and his clique.

          Minister Scotland is an avid football supporter and former footballer himself and his love of football could easily blind him to the bigger implications of getting the CI Government directly involved in FIFA and CONCACAF purely on Jeffrey Webb's say so.

          BOTH FIFA and CONCACAF ARE currently involved in worldwide, well-publicised SCANDALS involving corruption in football…..and…

          If you think that Jeffrey Webb is or can be easily dis-associated from that then you're just plain stupid…or work for Webb in some capacity.

          It's best that Scotland stays out of any decisions and moves that Webb maks to bring CONCACAF headquarters to Cayman…this is a rich organization that can foot its own bills and pay for ANY costs of re-location on its own.

          IT will be a very BAD idea for the CI Govt. to become directly involved with FIFA and CONCACAF, regardless of anything that Jeffrey Webb says to the contrary.

          Webb has done NOTHING to advance local Caymanian football in the past…what would make ANYONE think that he would do anything now that he is head of CONCACAF ?

        • Anonymous says:

          Sidley Austin – now where did I hear that name before… oh, wait ..ok, move on people, nothing to see here ,and nothing at all to do with the former premier

  7. Anonymous says:

    Please … don't make me laugh.