By Paul Nicholson
January 26 – CONCACAF has released details of its proposed reform measures to its member federations, at the centre of which would be the replacement of the executive committee with a CONCACAF Council.
The new Council will consist of a maximum of 15 members with representatives from CONCACAF’s three different regions as well as a representative for women’s football. It is also proposed to have three independent council members – one from each region.
The Caribbean Football Union, by far the largest of CONCACAF’s three regions, has already debated the reform proposals and will meet again in February for further talks once they have answers to key questions surrounding the Council composition, the future role of the president, and a clarification of independent directors.
There is suspicion in the Caribbean that the proposals will dilute their access to the now North American-dominated confederation powerbase. With the reform statutes due to be voted in at CONCACAF’s February 25 Extraordinary Congress, the decisions on the new structures will have been made and potentially could severely limit Caribbean influence on decision making, especially if the presidential role just becomes more figurehead than operational.
The Caribbean, if voting as a block, dictate who will be president. However CONCACAF, which is currently operating without a president, will not hold an election for a new president until May, after the reforms have been passed.
Other reform proposals include new procedures for commissioning of suppliers, the introduction of 12 year term limits, fit and proper person tests for committee members, and the right for the confederation to audit member associations it sends money to.
In a move that will take a lot of governance power away from traditional football officials, there is a proposal for the creation of “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.
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