By Andrew Warshaw
March 27 – Jeffrey Webb, the man charged with putting Caribbean football back on its feet after last year’s cash-for-votes scandal, now looks almost certain to become one of the most influential administrators in world football as the new boss of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).
Webb (pictured right with FIFA President Sepp Blatter) was the only candidate to take over from corruption-tainted former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner when the deadline passed for nominations on Sunday.
“I am humbled by the tremendous outpouring of support and encouragement received from so many of the countries,” Webb said in a statement.
“It is this unity of the CONCACAF that will champion our success, and if elected, it is my intention to build on that unity through collaboration, transparency, integrity, engagement and accountability.”
Webb is a member of FIFA’s Transparency and Compliance Committee, one of the bodies set up to clean up world football’s governing body.
He is also chairman of the Caribbean Football Union’s (CFU) Normalisation Committee, established last year after the scandal which led to the downfall of Warner.
Alfredo Hawitt of Honduras has served as interim President since Warner’s resignation from all footballing activities.
Webb, President of the Cayman Islands Football Association (CIFA), is understood to have been nominated by 25 out of the 40 member nations in CONCACAF.
Barring any last-minute hitches, he will be formally voted into office during the CONCACAF Congress in Budapest on May 23 on the eve of FIFA Congress in the Hungarian capital.
CONCACAF was thrown into turmoil after Warner quit and Chuck Blazer (pictured), its general secretary, resigned at the end of 2011.
Back in January, Webb told insideworldfootball: “CONCACAF needs an overhaul and I think I would have a contribution to make.”
Asked to elaborate, he said CONCACAF needed to distribute its funding more equitably.
“I would like to see it assisting its members and sharing some of its revenues,” he explained.
“I’d like to see more of that money helping some of the grassroots programmes in smaller countries, both in the Caribbean and Central America.”
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