CONCACAF's executive committee made a wise decision this week that could lead to a chain reaction of smart calls from the people running North America's soccer governing body.
Needing a president after the arrest of interim president Alfredo Hawit on corruption charges, the man who took the job after previous president Jeffrey Webb was arrested on corruption charges (neither have been convicted of any crimes), the committee decided to appoint no president and run the confederation as a group, advising general secretary Ted Howard until the general congress in May 2016 in Mexico City.
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Alfredo Hawit (Getty Images)
The hope, according to a CONCACAF news release, is the next leader will "be determined by a public election and the scrutiny that comes with it."
"It is critical for the Confederation's future that the next President be elected by the full Congress, rather than statutorily appointed," Horace Burrell, a CONCACAF vice president, said in a news release. "Under this leadership structure, CONCACAF can ensure there is sufficient time to publicly vet candidates while the Confederation focuses on continued implementation of strong reforms."
It would be a welcome change if the candidate was well vetted, especially if that scrutiny came from an outside group. This is a confederation that elected Jack Warner, who even before a recent wave of arrests made by the U.S. government was accused of major corruption by a committee put together by CONCACAF itself. Yet Warner flew through elections time and time again without vetting.
Webb spoke often of reform and getting the confederation to a clean state. It wasn't long before he was arrested on corruption charges. That put Hawit in the hot seat, a position he'd occupied before, during the strange period in 2011 when Warner was suspended. Lisle Austin took over but tried to remove Chuck Blazer from his general secretary role. That saw Austin get the boot and Hawit enter.
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For Burrell's part, and let's be clear that there are no charges or allegations against him (currently ... he was banned six months by FIFA's ethics committee in 2011 though that was reduced to three), Burrell has been with CONCACAF through it all. "The Captain" held a position on a committee as early as 1993, according to a Jamaican Gleaner report from the time.
Burrell and Webb met on a flight in the early 1990s, according to a Jamaica Gleaner article on the two men opening an outpost of the Jamaican's chain of bakeries in Webb's native Cayman Islands, and had been friends ever since. It was through Burrell that Webb got into soccer, according to the article.
Jeffre Webb, left, with Sepp Blatter (Getty Images)
Again, this is not to implicate Burrell or any other actor, but it does show how close many of these officials become. CONCACAF's decision to govern by committee is all well and good, but for a candidate to emerge that can clean up the confederation, it's going to be someone from the outside. What we've had, and what we do not need, is more men entrenched in the culture that has taken hold at soccer's governing bodies in this region.
Warner, Blazer, Webb, all were part of the most successful era CONCACAF has seen on the field — and off it as well. But to think a reformer couldn't come in and continue to build the game without building his investment fund is silly. There are plenty of people in the region running businesses, running soccer leagues and making profits with the funds they gain from the game we love. That's a great thing. Media rights for major tournaments are lucrative. Let's get that money broadcasters, advertisers and fans are putting into the confederation's coffers working for the good of the game.
This column's name, CONCACAF Watch, was chosen intentionally, to show that not only are soccer matters passing through our lens but also the wheeling and dealing that happens in governance. While that was the goal, it's been difficult to play a real watchdog role for a variety of reasons. CONCACAF must be open to scrutiny and have plenty of people from the outside involved if there's any chance of righting this ship.
There have been good steps along the way, and Monday's decision is another, but the path is perilous. The current group of leaders has slipped up often. Some perhaps can remain as old, guiding hands, but there's no hope without new faces.
— Jon Arnold writes CONCACAF Watch for Goal.com, a Sporting News sister publication
