President of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Wayne Forde says his organization is of the belief that Lady Jaguars head coach Mark Rodrigues is the ideal candidate for the post of CONCACAF president.
This follows the recent announcement that Rodrigues has entered the race for the CONCACAF top post.
In an invited comment Forde, who nominated Rodrigues told Stabroek Sports, “I think Mark Rodrigues has proved that he is a servant of football and I believe that he possesses the requisite skills to do the job. Above all, he is a man of integrity and that is the missing ingredient in the administration of football the world over.”
According to an article published on the Inside World Football website Rodrigues is the first person to indicate his intention to vie for the CONCACAF top post.
“Guyanese Mark Rodrigues is the first candidate to declare he will run for the presidency of the North and Central American and the Caribbean confederation in elections expected to take place May 12 in Mexico City,” stated the publication.
Forde said he had high hopes that Rodrigues’ candidacy will be supported by the region.
“I believe that the members of CFU and CONCACAF will respond favourable to a candidate that comes without baggage and I think that he is the first ray of light that football will see after a very dark period. Guyana and the GFF by extension would be proud to have its first CONCACAF President and if elected he would be the highest ranking Guyanese ever in football.”
According to the Inside World website, “Rodrigues, who has a strong history of administration, football development and coaching, has issued a manifesto in which he says he will usher in a new style of leadership at CONCACAF, ‘one that leads with honesty and integrity where playing football is at the heart of everything we do and stand for’.
“His entry into a leadership contest dramatically changes the presidential playing field in a confederation that historically has preferred to have its elections stage-managed.
“The CONCACAF executive committee chose not to promote one of its vice-presidents to the role of interim president following the arrest of the serving interim vice president Alfredo Hawit in Zurich in December while attending FIFA meetings,” the article on the website stated.
“The arrival of Rodrigues, backed by Guyana but who will need the support of three further member associations before he can officially stand, opens up the challenge for the presidency.
“It is believed that the North and Central American preferred candidate for the presidency is Canadian president Victor Montagliani, while from the Caribbean region, Caribbean Football Union president Gordon Derrick also has privately expressed ambition for the position in the past and is expected to step forward”.
“The Caribbean, if they vote as a block can be king makers in the region with their 31 votes out of a total of 41 in the confederation,” said the article.
