HexagonalBlog

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.

Pre-qualifier roundup: Groups D-F

This is a continuation of a press roundup heading into the critical pair of World Cup qualifiers, focused on action in Groups D, E, and F.

GROUP D

After a training session in Florida, the Canadian national team travelled to St. Kitts and Nevis for their qualifier tonight.  A point will clinch first place in the group; if they lose, they still would require a point in the return match in Toronto.  The match will be streamed live by Canadian media company Sportsnet.

I'm a little incredulous when I read the CBC Sports headline "Canada faces tough test in St. Kitts".  I know that SKN have the highest FIFA ranking of the three opponents in Canada's group, but a side that sees itself as a competitor to Mexico, Honduras, and the USA should not view St. Kitts and Nevis as a challenging game, proper respect to opponent aside. 

Keith Gumbs, who has carved out quite a reputation for himself in southeast Asia, is still representing the Caribbean team at age 39, but he will be isolated in attack now that Vancouver's Atiba Harris is unavailable due to injury.  There will be a small but spirited crowd at Warner Park in Basseterre.

Puerto Rico finish their qualifying campaign against St. Lucia, building upon their goalless draw against Canada while laying the grounds for the future.  Coach Jeaustin Campos has given 18-year-old Jackie Marreno a start up front and placed three other U-20 players on the substitutes' bench.  The federation also decided to play the home match against St. Lucia in Mayagüéz in an effort to promote the game throughout the county.

GROUP E

Guatemala have won the group, and will finish the second round group stage with a home-and-away series against Grenada.  With passage to the semifinal round secure, Ever Almeida decided not to call up most of the foreign based players; only Guillermo Ramírez (Motagua) and José Castillo (University of Virginia) were named in the squad.  Ramírez has been the surprise callup as he has not started for Motagua in the Honduran league. 

The Grenadans had complications entering Guatemala because several players did not have a visa (why was this not handled in advance by the Grenada FA?), which forced half of the team to remain in Panama City while the visa processing was completed.  The full squad was able to enter the country and perform training sessions at Estadio Mateo Flores. 

St. Vincent are in Belize for their World Cup qualifier tonight.  There is a gushing profile on one of the Belizean news sites on striker Deon McCauley, who is tied for the goalscoring lead in the CONCACAF qualifiers.  He's only 24 and plays for Deportes Savio in Honduras, so who knows, maybe he'll get a look by one of the Big Five in Honduras in the future.

GROUP F

Antigua and Barbuda meet Haiti in another winner-take-all series.  Antigua have zoomed up the FIFA rankings on the basis of some lopsided results in their group matches, while Haiti have had relatively less impressive scorelines.  When you look at their previous matches, their respective performances against Curaçao stand out.  Antigua defeated Curaçao on the road 1-0, but Haiti had to fight back from two goals draw to rescue a point at home to the Antillan nation.  So now Haiti must win at least four points to go through to the next round. 

Antigua's squad, as you might expect, has a strong English flavor.  Haiti's squad is from all over -- Jean Alexandre is from Florida (from my high school in fact) and plays for Real Salt Lake -- but they have incorporated several players who play in Ligue 1 or Belgium's Pro League.  This qualifying campaign has already turned out to be an expensive one for the Antiguan/Barbudan FA -- at least EC$500,000 (Eastern Caribbean dollars), which is around US$180k. 

The other match features US Virgin Islands and Curaçao, the two battered teams in the group.  USVI's NFL player turned goalkeeper has had a rough introduction to international play, and it's been a learning experience for the rest of the team and federation as well.  Curaçao haven't been good enough, but they will attempt to preserve some honor in their final two games.

Pre-qualifier roundup: Groups A-C

With the decisive series of World Cup qualifiers over the next five days, it's time to look around the region and find out how preparations are going.

GROUP A

El Salvador left for Suriname yesterday, needing just a point to win passage to the third round of the qualifiers and a win to set a new record for consecutive victories in World Cup qualifiers.  Part of the players' minds is focused on the game, but the other part is thinking of Rodolfo Zelaya, who suffered knee and leg injuries in a league match for his Russian club over the weekend.  Zelaya will be out for at least six months, and his absence will be felt in the national team, although it probably won't stop them from advancing to the next group stage.  El Salvador's captain Luís Anaya has been barred from leaving the country while he handles a court case (domestic dispute I gather from reading the papers).

In the Surinamese camp, the mood is of cautious optimism, but everyone knows that the country's World Cup hopes are hanging by a thin thread.  Only two wins will suffice for them.

Incidentally, tonight's qualifier will be broadcast in El Salvador and the USA through Traffic Sports.

Dominican Republic and Cayman Islands will meet in the first of two dead matches, but both sides are taking the match seriously.  The Dominicans want to finish strongly so as to improve their FIFA ranking, while the Caymans want to play and have fun.  It's difficult for an amateur side to progress any further than the Caymans already have. It's also difficult to finish a six-match group series and break even, something that the DR's federation is experiencing.

GROUP B

Tonight is the biggest match in Guyanese football history.  Defeat the Soca Warriors (who are undefeated head-to-head versus Guyana), and the Jaguars will advance to the semifinal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying for the first time.  Any other result will set up a winner-take-all situation in Port-of-Spain next week.  The level of excitement in Georgetown approaches that of other famous qualifiers in the region, like T&T-USA in 1989 or Jamaica-Mexico in 1997. 

Guyanese players have a long history of participation in Trinidadian leagues, but not so much today and at any rate their two highest-profile players are based overseas. Leon Cort has played defender for a number of English teams over his career (currently on loan at Charlton Athletic), while Gregory Richardson has played for a couple of teams in the North American Soccer League (with a very brief audition at the Colorado Rapids in between).  T&T's team are not as experienced in this cycle as in previous qualifying editions, and their preparation remains to be a subject of criticism, but when you look at the relative difference between the teams, Trinidad & Tobago still come out ahead.  This is also the first time that Guyana has played a truly high-stakes match, while several members of the Soca Warriors played in the World Cup playoff against Bahrain six years ago.  Will it be another "November moment" for T&T?

The other match in the group is the B-list derby between Bermuda and Barbados.  The home-and-away series has now become two home matches for Bermuda after the Barbadian FA forfeited their home match in order to save on transportation costs.  Bermuda captain Khano Smith says that his team's goal is a spot in the FIFA Top 100, which two wins could help achieve.  Given the financial constraints of the participating teams, there is the serious risk of going into a deep hibernation after next week, which would ruin any momentum generated during the group stage.

GROUP C

Panama have clinched first place in the three-team group. 

Nicaragua will wrap up their World Cup qualifying campaign with a home match against Dominica. Team colors have been sorted out, and the Nicaraguans will want to exit on a high after the 5-1 defeat to Panama in their last match.  There will be no financial incentives to the Dominican players this time.

Lisle Austin still banned from CONCACAF

Former CONCACAF interim president Lisle Austin has seen his one-year ban by FIFA upheld on appeal.

Austin was banned by FIFA for petitioning an outside court to reinstate him after CONCACAF's Executive Committee removed him from his post for dismissing then CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer.

Austin has one more option through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland, but it's highly likely that he will remain suspended until June.  In the end, Blazer will leave CONCACAF by 1 January.

There's a post -- a couple of posts, actually -- that I need to write about the end of the Warner/Blazer era at CONCACAF.  I hope to publish the first of those later this week.

Handicapped two-legs to finish CONCACAF WCQ second round

With the exception of the contracted Group C, all of the second round groups in CONCACAF's World Cup qualifying will finish with home-and-away matches between the same two teams.  It is quite odd that CONCACAF chose to schedule the games this way instead of the usual double round-robin, but the schedule has created two-leg series with a twist in four of the six groups.

Matchday 2 of CONCACAF Second Round as it happened

Joined in progress, it's the second matchday of the second round of  CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.  Here we go:

[Group B] Barbados 0-2 Trinidad & Tobago F
[Group A] Dominican Republic 1-1 Suriname F
[Group F] US Virgin Islands 1-8 Antigua & Barbuda F
[Group E] Belize 1-2 Guatemala F
[Group D] St. Lucia 2-4 St. Kitts & Nevis F
[Group B] Guyana 2-1 Bermuda F
[Group D] Puerto Rico 0-3 Canada F
[Group F] Curaçao 2-4 Haiti F
[Group A] Cayman Islands 1-4 El Salvador F
[Group C] Nicaragua 1-2 Panama F

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