Caribbean ambitions

It will be a meteoric rise for John-Williams, former chairman of four-time Caribbean champions Directv W Connection. On Saturday, John-Williams challenges incumbent, Gordon Derrick, of the Antigua-Barbuda Football Association and Hillaren Frederick, president of the United States Virgin Islands Football Association for the presidency at the XXXIX Caribbean Football Union Congress.

The CFU will hold its ordinary congress at the Pan Am Ballroom of the Sheraton Miami Airport Hotel, in Miami, Florida, where delegates will vote for an executive committee to lead the organisation for the next four years.

Other contested positions will see Cheney Joseph (Grenada, incumbent) and Osiris Guzman (Dominican Republic) vying for the first vice-president position. Rignaal Francisca (Curacao, incumbent) and Anton Sealy (Bahamas) are vying for the second vice-president position.

Fabrice Baly (St. Martin) and Lyndon Cooper (St. Lucia, incumbent) are vying for the third vice-president position. Raymond Anderson (Jamaica), Richard Dijkhoff (Aruba) and Hillaren Frederick (USVI) are also vying for the fourth vice-president position.

Nine individuals are in the race for the four spots as executive committee member. They are Bruce Blake (Cayman Islands); Vernold Coombs (St. Vincent and the Grenadines); Hillaren Frederick (USVI); Randolph Harris (Barbados); Eric Labrador (Puerto Rico); Alain Mijdt (French Guiana); Maurice Victoire (Martinique); Jeaninne Wong Loi Sing (Bonaire) and Wayne Forde (Guyana).

John-Williams recently launched his manifesto and has proposed a new structure to the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), which will include a Board of Directors as policy makers, but implementation coming through its elected president. He also proposes improving the image and reputation of the CFU at the CONCACAF and FIFA levels, following charges brought against the last two CFU presidents, Trinidadian Jack Warner and Cayman Island’s Jeffrey Webb.

“Under my leadership, I am committed to undertaking this task and it will be one of my major objectives, if elected into office,” Williams said in his manifesto.

John-Williams has spent 34 years in the construction industry, but is primarily known for his role as head of the 17-year-old W Connection team. Among his objectives, John-Williams lists providing platforms for the ongoing development of Caribbean football; improving the standard of the game on the pitch and the administration; facility improvement and growing the sport’s fan base.

He also hopes to increase opportunities in the region to play professionally by the implementation of the Caribbean Professional Football League in the shortest possible time. John-Williams also proposes to rotate the Caribbean Cup, the national premier competition for national teams, “so as to ensure that member associations are allowed the opportunity to host this event.”

John-Williams is looking to set up a permanent home for Caribbean Football and secure on a four-year renewable basis, four gold sponsors, ten silver sponsors and 10 bronze sponsors to secure the income needed to support and sustain the CFU operations and programmes.

“The CFU already has a building purchased in Jamaica for this purpose which has been sitting idly for some three years. I plan to review this current situation to complete this project in the shortest possible time. The recruitment of additional qualified and competent staff is also required to be done by the CFU,” he has said.

RELATED NEWS

CFU elections: John-Williams pledges to tear house down and rebuild it brick by brick
By Paul Nicholson (insideworldfootball.com).

Trinidad and Tobago FA president David John-Williams, a challenger for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) presidency in elections to be held in Miami July 23, has released his manifesto to Insideworldfootball.

Based around a strong argument for the importance of developing professional football and a Caribbean Professional League as the leader of the CFU’s football development, he outlines a vision that would see the CFU undertake a major structural reform of its operations and constitution, and move its headquarters back to Jamaica where it already owns property.

“Football and sports have been my passion from my youth, and I have been extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to establish a Professional club in 1999. The success of the club has allowed it to represent the Caribbean Football Union at the CONCACAF level with some level of distinction since 2000,” he says.

“Being exposed to that level of competition, seeing how the game is administered, marketed, and played internationally, has afforded me insight into the demands of what is required to enable the Caribbean to successfully compete at the CONCACAF and world level.”

With a focus very much on increasing high level performance, he says his strategic objective is for the Caribbean to be represented at both the FIFA World Cup Finals and the World Youth Cup Finals from 2026 onwards.

To do this he says in his leadership pledge that he will “redefine the CFU’s vision, mission and core values”. The pledge also talks of the signing of an already prepared MOU with European governing body UEFA and the fostering of “a professional approach to football in all Member Associations, through the implementation of a Caribbean Professional Football League.”

The professional league is a constant theme throughout the manifesto.

In support of his overhaul of the governance structure of the CFU he says: “There is the need for a new constitution to be put in place in accordance with CONCACAF and FIFA’s guidelines. This should have been undertaken long before the current Congress. Within the first six (6) months of the new term these issues will be addressed.

“The process of refining the new statues will be undertaken in consultation with all members of the CFU and the relevant FIFA and CONCACAF representatives.”

All of this will be paid for out of an ambitious commercial sponsorship programme that will: “Identify, target, and secure on a four year renewable basis, 4 gold sponsors, ten silver sponsors and ten bronze sponsors to secure the income needed to support and sustain the CFU operations and programmes

“Secure a long term TV deal for the local and foreign rights for all CFU tournaments in particular our Men’s Caribbean Cup. Notwithstanding the capability of the negotiating team, the probability of securing such deals increases significantly if the senior men’s team from member countries ensures that they play as often as possible on FIFA match day windows at the same time improve in the FIFA rankings

“In the negotiation of sponsorship deals (kit deals, etc) we will consider the entire CFU region where possible as one organisation ‘from grassroots to the men senior national team’. Such an approach will ensure the sponsor gets maximum value for money and ensure a better package for Member Countries.”

This commercial task would be undertaken by a newly established media and marketing department that would:

– Assist in establishing and managing the recording of CFU National Teams International games and all CFU tournaments – It is my intention to have a recognised international Sports Marketing company to be responsible for securing top friendly international games for CFU National Teams;

– Assist in the promotion and marketing all football being played in the local leagues of CFU member Countries Enhancement and management of a new, dynamic, updated and informative CFU web site.

– Assisting in establishing, in collaboration with the respective Caribbean Governments, that each member country has a National Football Stadium to support its National Team program.

– To undertake to ensure that the Finals of our Premier competition The CFU Men’s Caribbean Cup is played on a regular basis in different CFU member countries facilitated so as to ensure that member associations are allowed the opportunity to host this event.

John-Williams also identifies priority projects including:

Moving the CFU headquarters and “improved staffing”
Improving the standard of women’s football across the region with the aim of moving towards a women’s professional league
Coach education and human resources development
Beach soccer and Futsal – not least ensuring that there is a legacy from the Beach Soccer World Cup to be hosted in the Bahamas in 2017
Education in the business of football
Improving the reputation of the CFU at CONCACAF and FIFA levels
John-Williams concludes his manifesto saying: “Sport in the region has been able to achieve what Politicians have been unable to do. This is supported by this single statistic:- Carifta (Caribbean Free Trade Association) was founded in 1965 by 3 countries namely Antigua/Barbuda, Barbados and Guyana. It transformed into CARICOM in the 1970’s at which time its membership was increased and presently stands at 13. It is amazing however that at the last Carifta games held in Grenada in 2016 boasted of a participation of 26 countries. The only CFU member countries missing from Carifta 2016 were Montserrat, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and St Martin.

“My dear Colleagues we must not miss this opportunity to implement once and for all a successful Caribbean Professional League. FIFA has publicly indicated their support for the proposed League. Our new CONCACAF President has echoed the same sentiments. We must now embrace this moment to show the World that the Caribbean is not just about “sun, sea and sand”. Our 31 voices must now be heard in unison and used to promote and enhance the game in the region. The security of the future of our young aspiring footballers in the region is the collective responsibility of all of us……”