THE lawyers advising delegates of the 41 member states of football’s North, Central America and the Caribbean Confederation (Concacaf) on the need for change might just as well have been Caribbean Community (Caricom) governments addressing the directors of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) on the same theme.
One of the six confederations within FIFA, the international body, several Concacaf principals were involved in the scandals leading to the demise of its long-serving president Sepp Blatter and Friday’s election in Zurich that chose his successor.
According to the Reuter news agency’s report, after being cautioned by its lawyers of “the serious consequences if it failed to change its structure,” Concacaf voted on the eve of Friday’s ballot to introduce sweeping reforms.
The WICB has flatly refused to do the same, rejecting the conclusion of three separate, independent committees over the past nine years that reviewed its composition and structure and its governance of the sport.
It finally led to the intervention of Caricom governments and the inevitable confrontation that came to a head at their leaders’ annual conference in Belize last week at which they decided to