CONCACAF officially has a new leader.
Victor Montagliani, head of the Canadian Soccer Association, was elected as CONCACAF’s new president at the confederation’s congress in Mexico City on Thursday morning. Montagliani defeated lawyer Larry Mussenden from Bermuda.
The Canadian businessman joins a list of CONCACAF presidents that haven’t been held in high regard as of late. The last four presidents — Jack Warner, Lisle Austin, Jeffrey Webb and Alfredo Hawit — have been involved in some sort of illegal activity. Warner, Webb and Hawit all have been indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for their respective roles in the FIFA scandal.
Montagliani’s chief accomplishments with Canada is the organization of last summer’s Women’s World Cup. In addition, Montagliani was a part of the FIFA reform panel that helped to rewrite the governing body’s rules in the aftermath of the now infamous indictments.
“I think there’s a lot of people – maybe there’s a silent majority – who are realizing that it’s not about where you’re from, but whether you have the ability,” Montagliani said in an ESPN article. “I’m hoping that when they make the decision it’s about ability, skillsets, and who can bring CONCACAF to where it needs to be rather than thinking about one union versus another.”
Montagliani is the first North American president since Joaquín Soria Terrazas left office in 1990.
Do you think that Montagliani was the right choice? What kind of a job will he do as president of CONCACAF?
Share your thoughts below.
Yeah, I mean wasn’t even a correction, was just adding info, just add the info to the article, note it was changed and move on. Just amateur hour, took me 3 minutes to wiki the guy and find out that information.
Censorship is not the answer, seriously taking information about the guy from posts and then putting it in the article while deleted the posts is amateur hour. My comment was in no way offensive, absurd it was deleted.
Go on…
Didn’t figure this post would stay, but the original post didn’t point out he was head of Canadian soccer or the World Cup post of his, in fact had little information. Someone else posted something to the effect of how can we know how to react without knowing who he is. I followed up with that additional information, both of our posts were deleted and the article updated to contain the new information, just thought it was unnecessary from SBI.
If this is true, then it is hilarious in a sad sort of way.
Ha wow, just checked back in to see my post deleted and then this string…I guess we got something done then Froboy lol
Yeah, the writers on this site are pretty thin-skinned when it comes to people correcting them in the comments. I’ve had the same thing happen to me. In the end, it’s a privately owned site and it can be run however they want, but it just seems odd to me that a journalistic blog wouldn’t want to have some sort of editorial transparency for its readers when it comes to corrections.
being the head of the CSA is not too much to brag about… but the WWC experience should be good.
The fact that he is the first non-Caribbean to be elected shows one of the pitfalls and problems with FIFA, CONCACA, COMNEBAL, et al., There are a lot of third world countries in North America, Africa and Asia who have a proportional amount of voted that have an inordinate amount of power over who gets elected, who gets the funds, etc. Some of the countries have poor human rights records, non-existent or rudimentary justice systems, and some with even barely above subsistence wages. This all lead to a culture of the “mordida” or “little bite” that is customary if not tolerated. It translates into how a disproportionate number of officials in COMNEBAL and CONCACAF got nabbed in the FIFA and Centenario scandal. When all you life you have been reminded that the mordida is “your right” for achieving your position and is part of your compensation.
Having a North American who comes from a society and culture that is closely allied with values promulgated by the US, is kind of a breath of fresh air. But we will see where it leads.
That or he’s taken his own little bite to bring the cup to Canada….
You do know about Chuck Blazer, right?
Yes, but Chuck Blazer was never elected President of CONCACAF. He was CONCACAF’s General Secretary (which, I think, is an appointed position) and was Executive Vice President (with the emphasis on VICE) of the US Soccer Federation.
and to be fair, i don’t think blazer’s ever taken a little bite of anything.
and to be fair, i don’t think blazer’s ever taken a little bite of anything.
Zing.
Let me see if I got this straight: He was a crooked as all hell CONCACAF executive and the USSF vice president but since he was appointed rather than elected then his low moral values don’t count against other Americans the same way they would if he were a different nationality? Seriously?
I have to agree with Rob here. There is no way to spin it. Anybody can be corrupt, whether they are from a third-world or first-world country. End of story. The biggest factor is the culture, the culture of the organization.
My point was that Blazer was NOT elected by the Caribbean nations, not that he wasn’t corrupt. There are more Caribbean nations than any other voting bloc in CONCACAF, and they have consistently voted for their own for CONCACAF presidents. The other bloc voting is from the Central American nations. All of these countries have a rich tradition of taking a bite from money passed their way for services rendered.