The race to fill the vacant Presidency of the beleaguered CONCACAF will come to a head in just over a week’s time, as Canadian Victor Montagliani and Bermudian Larry Mussenden go head to head.
The two men, Montagliani and Mussenden, are all current Presidents of the Canada Soccer Association (CSA) and the Bermuda Football Association (BFA) respectively, with ambitions of returning CONCACAF on course after the corruption scandal that saw previous President Jeffrey Webb and his successor Honduran Alfredo Hawit, who has acted as CONCACAF Head following Webb’s sensational arrest in Zurich, Switzerland indicted by US Department of Justice in the ongoing probe.
Guyana as a member of the CFU and by extension CONCACAF, just like all of the other affiliates, will have the opportunity of determining who the next CONCACAF President becomes so therefore their vote could be seen as crucial in choosing the next Head of that Organization.
Traditionally, a country’s vote is in large part premised on the level of support that is promised by the respective candidates vying for the top job, thereby rendering the vote a vital component for collective viability and future development.
It also means that those who lead their respective countries associations have a right to seek broad consensus among their General Council to arrive at the best suited candidate in exchange for the vote.
It must be noted that in-spite of getting the approval of their General Councils for the candidate of choice is no guarantee for support; a President could feel at ease that in the absence of promised assistance, the choice was not independent, but received broad endorsement.
In the past, the act of seeking agreement among affiliates (General Council) was clearly absent considering the overwhelming feedback accumulated.
There were examples of those with the responsibility of conveying our vote to Congresses overlooking the General Council and unilaterally declaring their choice of candidate.
This should not be since Guyana’s vote is as precious as any other nation and should be guided by the input of all the local stakeholders after meeting with them.
It was reported not so long ago in one of the dailies that sitting President of the Guyana Football Federation Wayne Forde was scheduled to meet Montagliani for discussions which is a very good step.
Mussenden has already made it clear that he intends to lobby for the approximate US$190 million seized or confiscated by the US Department of Justice to be used for development programmes.
Forde is quoted as saying, “Our vote for CONCACAF President is as precious as any other.”
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