By Andrew Warshaw
September 24 – The scandal-rocked Caribbean Football Union (CFU) will elect a new chief on November 20 to replace Jack Warner who resigned from all football activities after being suspended in the wake of the FIFA cash-for-votes debacle.
Jamaican Football Association President Horace Burrell leads a list of four nominees for the top post in Caribbean football though much could depend on the outcome of next month’s FIFA Ethics Committee hearing involving 15 of the region’s leading officials caught up in the bribery scandal.
The other three up for the Presidency to be decided on November 20 at an extraordinary congress in Montego Bay, Jamaica, are fellow Jamaican Tony James, Antigua’s Gordon Derrick and Trinidad and Tobago’s Harold Taylor.
Burrell will be favourite to get the job since he has been first vice-president of the CFU for over a decade and is the only nominee who currently holds a post among the regional executive.
But given how badly the region has been tainted with the stench of corruption, whoever is appointed will have to make restoring their CFU’s credibility their first option.
“I have been the vice-president for way over a decade and I have gained tremendous experience over the years,” Burrell said.
“I am also in close contact with my colleagues throughout the region and I have over the years developed a very good relationship with all the members.”
“Therefore, I am confident that come the 20th of November I will receive enough support to install me as the next CFU President.”
James also explained his reason for putting himself up for the post.
“I think we need to bring healing and unity to the various factions that have developed recently in the Caribbean by providing experienced and effective leadership,” he said.
“I don’t go into elections and these positions frivolously, so if I didn’t feel I can win I wouldn’t be in there.
“The Caribbean Union is in turmoil, so it is difficult to even say who is supporting who until FIFA’s ethics committee has decided who is eligible to be a delegate and even who is eligible.”
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