HexagonalBlog

It's not just another game

I was going to write something about my thoughts of another renewal of the biggest rivalry in North American soccer, but this piece by Noah Davis in SB Nation is so engrossing and visually stunning that it'll take that post's place. 

It recollects the story of the first win by a US national team against Mexico since 1934, which marked an inflection point in the rivalry and its significance to both countries.  The unsuccessful saga that Davis and others have taken to recover the lone surviving tape of the match (supposedly owned by Televisa and the Mexican Football Federation) is a feature of the piece and is illustrative of the Mexican reaction to the USA's rise in the series.

It's worth a read, so go read it.

Round 2 of Hexagonal 2013 as it happened

This was the liveblog for the second round of the Hexagonal.  It was definitely an eventful evening.

Honduras 2-2 Mexico FT
Jamaica 1-1 Panama FT
USA 1-0 Costa Rica FT

Commentary after the jump.

Jeffrey Webb confirmed as CONCACAF leader

Cayman Islands FA president Jeffrey Webb is now the 4th president of the CONCACAF confederation.  He was the lone candidate for the position (29 nominations out of the 40 members) and was voted by acclamation at the CONCACAF congress in Budapest today.  Webb has the administrative experience from years of service at the national FA, CFU, CONCACAF, and FIFA committees, and has accumulated the contacts that go along with such service. I'm not surprised that Sepp Blatter and most of the confederation chiefs were in attendance for Webb's acceptance speech.

Webb called for the confederation to renew itself after a tumultuous year and bring the focus back on football.  He also said that the 2026 World Cup "belonged to CONCACAF", but what did he mean, as a host or as a world champion? 

I haven't seen any reports on the composition of the Executive Committee, which will reveal to what extent the North and Central Americans will participate in the operations of CONCACAF. 

Caribbean asserts its numerical advantage in CONCACAF presidential race

CONCACAF announced a few days ago that Jeffrey Webb, a banker and current president of the Cayman Islands FA, will be the only candidate for the CONCACAF presidency.  The vote won't occur until CONCACAF's Extraordinary Congress in Budapest in late May, but given that Webb received endorsements from 25 of the 40 member associations, something significant would have to happen for him to lose support.  (This article from Honduras sports daily Diez says that Webb received 29 endorsements.)  Alfredo Hawit of Honduras is the acting CONCACAF president, but he knows math as well as any Central or North American in the confederation, and he has decided not to stand for election.

When the election process started, I said that the Caribbean nations will have a very strong say over who will become the next president, and in fact they have.  The Caribbean Football Union has 30 members, 75% of the total membership of CONCACAF.  If we only consider the English Caribbean members, there are 17.  So the English Caribbean members, by themselves, can decide who the next CONCACAF president will be, and the remaining Caribbean associations will go along.  (Who else are they going to follow, a Central American candidate who they don't relate to, or a North American who they'll never support?)  I've read a couple of articles expressing surprise that Webb will be the next president, but why should there be?  It is nothing more than the rule of the majority in CONCACAF.

The next executive office to be filled will be the general secretary.  Given the way that power has been shared in the confederation in the past, I would not be surprised if a North American takes that seat.

CONCACAF Congress in Budapest: Not as bizarre as it sounds

CONCACAF's announcement that the new confederation president would be selected at their Congress in Budapest -- Hungary! -- raised eyebrows and drew considerable derision from the media and the Twitterverse.  The Congress will meet on 23 May to select a president who will complete the remaining four years of Jack Warner's term.

I know that I have been critical of bizarre CONCACAF decisionmaking in the past, but I don't believe the decision to host the CONCACAF Congress in Europe is as odd as it sounds.  The CONCACAF delegates will be in Budapest for the FIFA Congress, and it would be very bad for a FIFA Ordinary Congress to meet without a permanent CONCACAF president in place.  This CONCACAF Congress is an Extraordinary Congress (i.e. not regularly scheduled) for the express purpose of selecting a new president.  If all of the CONCACAF national association delegates will be in Budapest anyway, why not have them meet the day before to select a new president?  From the confederation's point of view, co-locating its Congress with FIFA's saves them money and logistical headaches.

CONCACAF's ExCo has started the countdown to the candidate nomination process, with national associations having until 25 March to nominate someone.  I would imagine that Alfredo Hawit, the interim president, will run for the permanent position.  The Caribbean associations will almost certainly try to put forward a common candidate, which may prove difficult in the post-Warner era but will be forced upon them as an act of self-preservation.  And it remains to be seen whether the North American associations will stand in the background or finally take an interest in the region's highest soccer leadership position. With closer integration if not an outright merger with CONMEBOL under consideration, this could be a consequential presidential election.

Is CONCACAF moving into CONMEBOL's orbit?

On Wednesday of this week, interim CONCACAF president Alfredo Hawit gave the clearest signal yet that the confederation will collaborate much more closely with CONMEBOL than they have in the past.  Will it be a merger in everything but name?  Not yet, but significant factions within both groups are considering the possibilities.

In recent years Mexican and some other select North and Central American clubs have participated in South American club competitions.  Mexico is practically a half-member of CONMEBOL given their clubs' participation in both Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana and the national team's consistent participation in Copa América.  Other CONCACAF clubs have been limited to participate in the Copa Sudamericana with some limited national team participation in Copa América. 

Hawit's proposal for a 16-team Copa América (in the truest sense of the word)  to celebrate CONMEBOL's centenary is an intriguing one that could serve as a proving ground for such a competition in a merged American confederation.  Such a competition would give CONMEBOL a figleaf for hosting the tournament in either USA or Mexico.  It's not known how the eight CONCACAF representatives would be selected -- rankings? qualification tournament? -- but what is known is that the USA would be a participant in an expanded event.  And if rankings are used, it's possible that one or two Caribbean countries would be in the group of eight.

Beyond an expanded Copa Libertadores and Copa América, full integration and then a full merger of CONCACAF with CONMEBOL would be much more difficult.  Hawit did not propose any changes to the World Cup qualification process, which would require CONCACAF Congress approval and then FIFA approval.  While Mexican teams have CONCACAF's blessing to participate in Copa Libertadores, no other domestic league in the region has the financial ability to carry out a Libertadores program or the television market to interest CONMEBOL, with the exception of MLS.  But even then, CONMEBOL already has access to the US market through Mexican teams and MLS teams haven't shown much interest in Copa Libertadores anyway.

At the end of the Medio Tiempo article was Hawit's call for a 4-year rotating presidency between the Caribbean, Central American, and North American subregions.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist like me to notice that such a proposal is dead on arrival in the Caribbean.  As far as the Caribbean nations are concerned, it would be like turkeys voting for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Such a presidency would force the other ten nations of CONCACAF to take a more assertive role in the leadership of the confederation as opposed to their more subservient role.  My impression is that the events of last year have awoken them from their disinterest, but the confederation has not yet found the right vehicle to get the North and Central Americans "in" and keep the Caribbeans reasonably happy.

The bottom line here is that Hawit is proposing some significant changes in the direction of CONCACAF, changes that need to be ratified by a new Congress and election.  The next four months will be important ones in the history of the confederation.

Howard becomes new CONCACAF General Secretary

No, not me.

CONCACAF announced that Ted Howard has been promoted from deputy general secretary to acting general secretary of the confederation.  He was previously involved with the original North American Soccer League in the 1970s and early 1980s, and held executive marketing positions with Ohlmeyer Communications (formed by fomer sports television producer Don Ohlmeyer) and the NBA before joining CONCACAF in 1998.  He has held adminstrative positions within CONCACAF and FIFA, such as membership on FIFA's referees and stadium/security committees.

The key word in the CONCACAF press release is "acting".  The general secretary position, like all the executive positions, are elected posts, so CONCACAF will have to form an Extraordinary Congress to ratify the decisions.  No date for such a Congress has been set.

Howard's ascension to general secretary is no surprise, but it means that one of the two top executive positions in the Confederation will be filled by a North American.  I would pay very close attention to who chooses to run for the CONCACAF presidency.  I doubt that the Caribbeans, with three-quarters of the CONCACAF membership, will accept being completely shut out of the top levels of CONCACAF leadership.

CORRECTION: And yes, it's Ted Howard, not Tim Howard.  Text corrected.

Thoughts on the end of the Warner/Blazer era

Today marks the final day of Chuck Blazer's tenure as general secretary of CONCACAF, an office that he has held for 21 years.  Jack Warner, who had served as CONCACAF president over the same period, was forced out as a result of his FIFA-imposed suspension six months ago. It brings to a close a consequential era in the history of the confederation.  Much has been written about this pair in this almost past year, and will be continue to be written in the coming year. I'd like to give my thoughts on the impact that these two men had on football throughout the region and the legacy that they have created.

CONCACAF lays out the Third Round roadmap

CONCACAF, with uncharacteristically fast speed, announced the schedule of the Third Round of World Cup qualifying within 24 hours of the conclusion of the last matches in the Second Round.  (CONCACAF's press release announced the schedule up to Round 4; you can find the full calendar at the Wikipedia page.)  The Third Round, which to long-time CONCACAF observers is also called the Semifinal Round, will take place between 8 June and 16 October, which will stretch out the Group Stage schedule in the CONCACAF Champions League.  It is very possible that a MLS team will have to finish its final CCL group matches and play a MLS Cup playoff game in quick succession.

Everything settled in CONCACAF semifinal groups

Heading into last night's matches, two of the six second round group winners were known.  The two teams that needed only a point were playing on the road; while the pair that required a win to advance were playing at home.  In the end, all of the group leaders won the points that they needed to settle the second round of World Cup qualifying with a match to spare.