By Paul Nicholson in Zurich
February 25 – Having said all the ‘right things’, and then voted the ‘right way’, CONCACAF’s member associations will now proceed to, hopefully, ‘doing the right thing’. A big step forward was taken by the confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean and its member associations at their extraordinary congress in Zurich where they voted unanimously to approve a wide ranging package of reforms.
The path to the reforms have not been entirely smooth and the debate in the congress went longer than anticipated, but there was never any waivering of the commitment to reforms or doubting the collective will to put the recent US indictments of their past three CONCACAF presidents behind them.
Victor Montagliani, president of the Canadian FA and a member of both FIFA and CONCACAF’s reform committees, said: “This is a landmark day for our confederation…this is the start of increased accountability. It also provide internal structures that depoliticize how money comes in and goes out of our organisation.”
Samir Gandhi, the lawyer drafted in from Sidley Austin who has been at the heart of the reform process (at CONCACAF and FIFA), said he felt that the most important of the reforms was “separating business from political operations”.
But he also made the point that: “If someone is going to be a crook and defraud you they are probably going to do it. What is important is to have the culture not to accept it.”
The theme of changing culture was central to the messages of both Montagliani and Gandhi. “Where we have got to (is good, but) we need to start living the reforms day by day,” said Montagliani.
“Statutes and compliance reforms are fine but will not mean anything unless we change the culture. Good organisations are always looking to do better,” said Gandhi.
The main point of contention in the Congress debate came around how CONCACAF would react if in future it was again shorn of its president but, as happened following the arrest of interim president Alfredo Hawit in December, none of the vice presidents were prepared (or had been dissuaded) to step up to fill the role before a new president could be elected.
This had been a point of contention in recent months with calls from the Caribbean members for a president to be appointed, as they felt was required in the statutes. The point being that their feeling was they had no clear point of contact in a confederation where big decisions on their future could be made without their input. The point may now be moot but the Caribbean members made it clear that they were not there to be pushed around, and they had already secured amendments to the reform proposals that ensured they still kept a position of power in the voting structure.
The process of putting the confederation back on track is well under way and there was a second unanimous endorsement of the FIFA reform proposals that were first endorsed in Miami earlier this month.
Montagliani and Gandhi also outlined the changed financial position of the confederation which had just $2 million in available cash at the time of the arrests in May 2015 and a further $9 million in its Cayman Islands bank account but inaccessible due to banking rules. All money is now consolidated into US accounts.
CONCACAF expects to wind up its 2015 accounts showing revenue of about $28 million (less than half the budgeted amount presented in May 2015) but Montagliani, while acknowledging that money could not be much tighter, said that “we are hopeful for the future”.
A successful Gold Cup and Confederation Cup play offs have made positive contributions while the salvaging of the Copa Centenario to be played in the US this summer will provide a much-needed revenue stream. The confederation is also pursuing a former travel and ticketing agent through the US legal system for upwards of $10 million.
It is also expected that the $10 million withheld by FIFA will be released once FIFA has appointed auditors.
And anyone wondering what happens to the $100 million+ collected by the US justice department via their indictments, there is hope here as well. Because CONCACAF is viewed as a ‘victim’ of the fraud, they have a claim over these funds. Though Gandhi emphasised that realistically they would not get their hands on any of this money soon.
And so on to Friday and FIFA’s electoral Congress. Montagliani made the point that CONCACAF has not endorsed any candidates as a block though the central Americans have endorsed Gianni Infantino via their sub-regional body UNCAF.
But once again in a FIFA presidential election it could be the Caribbean that holds the king-making power. Although no-one is saying there is clearly a sympathy towards Shaikh Salman whose empathy towards the smaller federations and the issues they face was not lost on that audience. Some are predicting he could receive as many as 20 votes from the region.
All five candidates presented at the end of the congress with Tokyo Sexwale for the first time addressing the confederation. Told he had limited time to present he quipped: “I spend 15 years in jail and you tell me I have 10 minutes.” In the end they gave him 15.
CONCACAF highlighted the key points in the reforms in a statement as:
Governance: Sixty days after the Extraordinary Congress, the current CONCACAF Executive Committee will be transformed into the CONCACAF Council. The CONCACAF Council, led by CONCACAF’s President, will assume responsibility for setting and achieving the Confederation’s strategic objectives and for football-related decision making. The General Secretariat will manage the day-to-day business operations of the Confederation with strategic direction and oversight from the Council and independent committees.
– Independence: Independent committees will be created to oversee Compensation, Governance, Audit and Compliance, and Finance. The Audit and Compliance Committee will be comprised entirely of independent members. The Compensation, Governance, and Finance Committees will be chaired by and comprised of a majority of independent members. Additionally, the CONCACAF Council will include up to three independent, non-voting members, who will be elected by CONCACAF’s Member Associations at the Ordinary Congress on May 12, 2016.
– Ethics: All candidates for the CONCACAF Council, CONCACAF President, standing committee members, members of judicial bodies, and senior Confederation officials will undergo eligibility checks to be conducted by the independent Ethics Committee. Until the independent Ethics Committee is formed, the CONCACAF Council will engage a third-party vendor to conduct the eligibility checks.
– Term Limits: Term limits of twelve years (consecutive or non-consecutive) will be applied to CONCACAF Council members and members of independent committees. Should existing members of the Executive Committee be elected to the CONCACAF Council, they may complete their current term plus one additional term so long as the member is in the last two years of his or her current term.
– Transparency: The CONCACAF Congress will have the authority to review and approve on an annual basis, upon the recommendation of the Compensation Committee, the remuneration and other compensation of CONCACAF Council members, CONCACAF representatives before FIFA, the chairpersons of the Audit and Compliance Committee, Finance Committee, Compensation Committee and the Governance Committee, and senior officials including the General Secretary, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Legal and Compliance Officer.
– Accountability: CONCACAF has the right to audit any Member Association or Union receiving CONCACAF funds for a specific purpose to ensure that such funds are being used for said purpose.
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