Nakhid: If FIFA wants reform; then reject Platini and vote for me

Former Trinidad and Tobago National Senior Team captain David Nakhid announced today that he will contest the post of FIFA president at the upcoming elections on 26 February 2016.

Photo: Former Trinidad and Tobago international midfielder David Nakhid celebrates after his team's quarter-final win over Costa Rica in the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup. (Copyright AFP 2015)
Photo: Former Trinidad and Tobago international midfielder David Nakhid celebrates after his team’s quarter-final win over Costa Rica in the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
(Copyright AFP 2015)

Controversial president Sepp Blatter has vowed to step aside to make way for a new leader at the helm of the maligned billion dollar corporation, which has been plagued by corruption for decades.

And Nakhid, who is a former St Mary’s College student with a double major in International Relations and Economics from American University in Washington DC, believes he is the man for the job.

“It is not about me wanting the job,” Nakhid told Wired868. “This is our time for a completely new face and a new ethos. According to the late (Trinidad and Tobago economist) Lloyd Best, we are the first, true globalists…


“The position of FIFA president is a diplomatic post with serious connotations. It needs someone who understands football and understands implementation and has the ability to transform that into how we reform the developing world.”

Nakhid, who is in Antigua at present, has already discussed his presidency with Caribbean Football Union (CFU) president Gordon Derrick and Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president Raymond Tim Kee, among other regional football administrators.

He claimed that, on Derrick’s invitation, he will speak to Caribbean football delegates on Saturday at a CFU executive meeting in St Maarten.

Photo: Sepp Blatter heads for the exit in Zurich after announcing his intention to step down as FIFA president. (Copyright Valeriano Di Domenico/AFP 2015)
Photo: Sepp Blatter heads for the exit in Zurich after announcing his intention to step down as FIFA president.
(Copyright Valeriano Di Domenico/AFP 2015)

A CONCACAF official has never stood for election at a FIFA congress while Nakhid’s move comes at a time when the Confederation is reeling from United States Department of Justice indictments of regional administrators for racketeering.

Current CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb was extradited to the United States to stand trial while past president and Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner is fighting extradition.

However, Nakhid, who has not lived within CONCACAF’s geographical boundaries for nearly two decades and runs the David Nakhid Academy in Lebanon, suggested that it was philosophically important that football’s reform began in the Caribbean.

“We want this to come out from the Caribbean because this is a place that has been underdeveloped,” he said, “and used for votes in the past by people from other parts of the world…

“I will do whatever it takes on my side to give us in the region a chance to sit at the (FIFA) head table. We thought we had someone on the table but that was an illusion.

Photo: Ex-TTFA general secretary and CONCACAF president Jack Warner (centre) chats with then FIFA president Joao Havelange (left) and former Germany World Cup coach and captain Franz Beckenbauer. (Copyright AFP 2014)
Photo: Ex-TTFA general secretary and CONCACAF president Jack Warner (centre) chats with then FIFA president Joao Havelange (left) and former Germany World Cup coach and captain Franz Beckenbauer.
(Copyright AFP 2014)

“We had someone there who pushed his own agenda and rendered the Caribbean servile and impotent.”

Nakhid, who claimed that his campaign has so far been self-funded, aims to win over the Caribbean with his manifesto, which points toward better development for the game in the region at all levels. He promised to make his manifesto public within two weeks.

One of his more radical proposals is the rotation of the CONCACAF Gold Cup throughout the Confederation, including Central America and the Caribbean. At present, the Gold Cup has never been staged outside of the United States and Mexico.

“We have ceded the Gold Cup to the United States for a trickle down of TV dollars,” said Nakhid. “But a tournament like the Gold Cup could force investment in infrastructure and development and coaching and so on throughout the region and in Central America.

“We want to be more equitable. The last board ceded that for their own benefit (and) that is just a sample of the inept leadership in the region before.”

Photo: Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Keron Cummings (third from right) celebrates his second strike against Mexico with teammates (from right) Khaleem Hyland, Kenwyne Jones and Kevan George at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. (Copyright Nicholas Kamm/AFP 2015)
Photo: Trinidad and Tobago midfielder Keron Cummings (third from right) celebrates his second strike against Mexico with teammates (from right) Khaleem Hyland, Kenwyne Jones and Kevan George at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
(Copyright Nicholas Kamm/AFP 2015)

Nakhid, a former Grasshoppers (Switzerland) and New England Revolution (MLS) playmaker, also proposed a new paradigm for the development of players in the Caribbean that seeks smooth relations between schools and professional clubs.

He believes the Caribbean must have a professional league and said the CFU might be the last region in global football to be without a properly organised competition. However, he thinks schools can and should remain the bedrock of player development.

“The Caribbean is very much school-based and community-based (and) we are very distinct in that way from Europe where things revolve around clubs,” said Nakhid. “I can tell you what a small European nation did that we can learn from.

“In the 1990s, Belgium introduced a template in which incentives were given to primary schools and secondary schools, where, if they produced players for the national level, they got funding for school grounds and so on… I know because I played there.

“Some parents oppose sending their children to clubs but they allow them to represent their schools. This template forces schools to invest in better coaching and create more curriculum time for football because it pays off in real economic terms.”

Photo: Trinidad and Tobago winger Levi Garcia (right) bamboozles the Curaçao defence during a 2014 U-20 Caribbean Cup fixture. Garcia has agreed terms with Eredivisie club, AZ Alkmaar, and will sign a professional contract on his 18th birthday in October 2015. (Courtesy Allan V Crane/Wired868)
Photo: Trinidad and Tobago winger Levi Garcia (right) bamboozles the Curaçao defence during a 2014 U-20 Caribbean Cup fixture.
Garcia has agreed terms with Eredivisie club, AZ Alkmaar, and will sign a professional contract on his 18th birthday in October 2015.
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/Wired868)

Nakhid suggested his intimate knowledge of issues in the Caribbean, Asia and Africa makes him a superior candidate to Platini.

Platini, according to Nakhid, is likely to continue Blatter’s system of ‘patronage’ to the developing world, which has led to more corruption than development.

“Patronage extended without proper oversight is not proper patronage at all,” he said.

“It is all well and good that football is taken to the wide areas of the world. But when money is given to build a football field and there is no oversight and nothing happens, you are just giving away money and that does not help development or anyone but the person who pocketed the money.

“Platini comes from the wealthiest confederation in the world. You have to ask how can he help us or help Africa coming from on high. Why should this be a coronation for him?

“FIFA should not be for the elite. FIFA’s role should be to develop football throughout the world.”

Photo: Ex-FIFA president Joao Havelange (centre), ex-IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch (right) and UEFA president and former France football star Michel Platini (left) wait for the start of the World Cup 2006 final at Berlin's Olympic Stadium on 9 July 2006. (Copyright AFP 2014/Nicolas Asfouri)
Photo: Ex-FIFA president Joao Havelange (centre), ex-IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch (right) and UEFA president and former France football star Michel Platini (left) wait for the start of the World Cup 2006 final at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on 9 July 2006.
(Copyright AFP 2014/Nicolas Asfouri)

Last month, a Reuters report, which quoted from an anonymous source, said Platini already had the support of four from FIFA’s six confederations. But Nakhid heard differently and he believes that, based on the strength of his ideas, he can surpass the Frenchman and former European Player of the Year.

“Now is time for the FIFA leadership to challenge the status quo,” he said. “UEFA is by far the wealthiest confederation and biggest beneficiary of talent from the developing world. And still, with all the largess they have, they complain within the democratic process about the money that goes to the developing world…

“I can’t come from a position of absolute strength and think I can identify with the people in Morvant (a depressed area in Trinidad). Platini has never worked in development (and) my track record is clear.

“Not only did I play in the developing world and speak out many times against the lack of infrastructure and development, I have been very active in raising the profile of football in the developing world.”

Nakhid stressed that he was not suggesting increased monetary hand-outs. But programs tailor-made for individual nations and properly monitored to lessen corruption.

Photo: FIFA president Sepp Blatter (right) and general secretary Jerome Valcke.
Photo: FIFA president Sepp Blatter (right) and general secretary Jerome Valcke.

Corruption, of course, is FIFA’s biggest issue.

The CFU president, who extended an invitation to Nakhid, was implicated in the Mohamed Bin Hammam bribery scandal that brought down Warner, four years ago, while Tim Kee served as vice president to the crooked Trinidad football official for nearly two decades.

So how could Nakhid hope to affect this cancer, particularly when his base is ravaged by it?

The former Caribbean MVP said he hopes the US Department of Justice’s arrest of football officials is a wake-up call to the football body. Beyond that, he suggested that a combination of improved oversight and an “appeal to the better nature” of officials could help turn FIFA around.

“There are 209 associations and six confederations and some will operate in ways we cannot effect,” said Nakhid. “We have to be pragmatic and we are not so naive to say we will have everyone holding hands and singing ‘Kumbaya.’ But we believe a serious, honest undertaking of development throughout the world with philosophical undertones will appeal to their ideological notions of their selves.

“We believe many officials come in for the betterment of the game but find a situation where it is easier to accept patronage than to elevate themselves and their region.

Photo: CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb (left) congratulates freshly minted CFU President Gordon Derrick. Derrick was charged for his role in the Mohamed Bin Hammam bribery scandal while Webb is on trial in the United States for racketeering.
Photo: CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb (left) congratulates freshly minted CFU President Gordon Derrick.
Derrick was charged for his role in the Mohamed Bin Hammam bribery scandal while Webb is on trial in the United States for racketeering.

“Some will be inspired by our rhetoric and want better. But some will want to cling to patronage and support a famous footballer from Europe who sends them 3,000 footballs…”

Nakhid has no intention of being cornered by the stereotype of a dodgy Caribbean football official, as evidenced by his own compatriot, Warner.

His own battles with Warner are well known within Trinidad football circles. His outspoken nature meant he was blacklisted from the international game for much of his adult career, despite being the country’s first real European star.

“I was blacklisted from 1989 to 1994 but for one game in-between,” said Nakhid. “I was criticising Jack Warner before criticising Jack Warner was in-vogue… and I suffered for it too, through hatchet jobs in the media and so on.

“But I don’t want this to seem like a get-back campaign because this is more global reaching than just Jack.

Photo: Chaguanas West MP and ex-FIFA vice president Jack Warner (left) gets a police escort as he arrives in Parliament on 5 June 2015. (Copyright Diego Urdaneta/AFP 2015)
Photo: Chaguanas West MP and ex-FIFA vice president Jack Warner (left) gets a police escort as he arrives in Parliament on 5 June 2015.
(Copyright Diego Urdaneta/AFP 2015)

“For all intents and purposes, Jack is irrelevant. He is only a reference to how things should not be done and how they should never be done again.”

Nakhid also took the opportunity to discuss his interaction with former Trinidad and Tobago football icon and coach, Everald “Gally” Cummings, who left the then Switzerland-based midfielder out of his “Strike Squad” team in the 1990 World Cup qualifying campaign.

“I have no problem with Gally,” said Nakhid. “Maybe (my omission from the Strike Squad) was just due to a clash of personalities, which could happen. Right now, I am prepared to give Gally the benefit of the doubt…

“Maybe he thought I couldn’t fit into that team. I would strongly differ. I think I would have been perfect for that team, especially where I was at that time.

“But that is football.”

Photo: Former Trinidad and Tobago stand-out player and coach Everald "Gally" Cummings (right) is recognised by former President Maxwell Richards at the TTFF's Centennial function.
Photo: Former Trinidad and Tobago stand-out player and coach Everald “Gally” Cummings (right) is recognised by former President Maxwell Richards at the TTFF’s Centennial function.

A silky playmaker in his heyday, Nakhid travelled to Switzerland for a trial with top flight club, Grasshoppers—on the recommendation of FIFA technical committee member Walter Gagg—as a 24-year-old university graduate in mid-1988.

He waited two months before he was allowed to train with the Grasshoppers’ first team.

“My chance came when I was allowed to play in a scrimmage between the team,” said Nakhid. “Hitzfeld basically told me I had 20 minutes and I went to town. I was a dribbler in those days…

“At the time, I was very critical of Ottmar… But I understand now that it was his first big club and he didn’t want to take risks.

“I was coming from a university in the States and they were in the European Cup at the time and had beaten teams like Real Madrid and Liverpool in the past.”

Hitzfeld left Grasshoppers three years later for Borussia Dortmund and a career that saw him become one of only five managers to win the European Cup with two different clubs.

Photo: Legendary German coach Ottmar Hitzfeld.

Nakhid spent two full seasons with Grasshoppers and also played professionally in Europe with Waregem (Belgium), PAOK (Greece) and Malmö FF (Sweden). It was a rarity then for European teams to use central midfielders from the developing world.

“I didn’t accept the status quo,” he said. “I was told many times over when I first came to Grasshoppers that I was coming from a region without a serious culture of football. They felt we didn’t have the tactical and mental acumen to run the show…

“I was stigmatised because of the region I came from and I wanted to change that.”

At Malmö, Nakhid met an inspired another talented maverick.

In Chapter Five of “I am Zlatan”, Sweden and PSG star Zlatan Ibrahimovic recalled his first meeting with Nakhid during pre-season, in which the Trinidadian challenged him to make the most of his talents.

Photo: Sweden football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic (left) gestures to the referee during a 2014 World Cup qualifier against Montenegro.
(Copyright Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP 2015)

“If someone else had said it I would have hardly believed in it,” said Ibrahimovic, in his biography. “But this guy, he apparently knew something. He had been around the world and it went like a dagger through my body. Was I really a pro talent in the making?

“I started to believe in it. For the first time I really did that and sharpened my play even more… The guy from Trinidad Tobago had indeed prepared me for (professional football).”

Nakhid speaks six languages: English, Greek, German, Arabic, French and Spanish; and has lived in Trinidad, United States, Switzerland, Greece, Belgium, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.

He gave his interpretation of Best’s quote about the Trinidad and Tobago ‘globalist.’

“Where we have come from with our diverse background of African, Indian, Chinese, Syrian and European heritages,” said Nakhid, “we were pushed into this melting pot to forge our identities. Globalism is a struggle to reach a certain identity.

Photo: A Trinidad and Tobago supporter holds up a sign ahead of the Group B World Cup match between Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago at Kaiserslautern’s Fritz-Walter Stadium on 20 June 2006.
(Copyright AFP 2014/Roberto Schmidt)

“They in Europe have more global access but they are not globalists and that position at FIFA needs a true globalist. And looking at where I have lived and how I have lived, my track record speaks for itself.”

Nakhid pointed to his arrest and a five day stint in a Lebanese cell, in April 1997, for helping ‘exploited’ African players, as evidence of his character and willingness to stand against wrongdoing. He challenged the European media to scrutinise Platini’s own record.

“Now that Blatter is going, we hope the media looks at the people who are going up and their track records,” said Nakhid, who pointed to the role Platini and his son, Laurent, played in Qatar’s controversial 2022 World Cup bid. “Look at Platini’s record and you will see a double standard by the European media in terms of their willingness to scrutinise their own leader…

“The scrutiny should not only be on those who resigned but those who are seeking the post. They should be scrutinised even more so…

Photo: Ex-FIFA VP Jack Warner and UEFA president Michel Platini keep each other's company at a FIFA event.
Photo: Ex-FIFA VP Jack Warner and UEFA president Michel Platini keep each other’s company at a FIFA event.

“Platini has done many of the same things he accuses Blatter of and he was making trips with Warner and Jeffrey Webb and so on. But there are no in-depth investigation into those.”

Nakhid insisted that, if FIFA’s members truly want reform, they will ignore Platini and vote for the Trinidadian instead.

“We want this to be a campaign of ideas and hopefully delegates will consider the substance of these ideas and then let the best man win,” Nakhid told Wired868. “I am not looking to divide Confederations and voting blocs, I want everyone to look at my manifesto and campaign and vote for me, including UEFA.

“Now is the time we feel that, instead of UEFA calling the Caribbean for a vote, I want, based on ideas, to be able to call UEFA and ask them to vote for me.”

Photo: Trinidad and Tobago captain David Nakhid (left) tries to avoid a tackle from Mexico star Chauhtemoc Blanco during the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup. (Copyright CONCACAF 2015)
Photo: Trinidad and Tobago captain David Nakhid (left) tries to avoid a tackle from Mexico star Chauhtemoc Blanco during the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
(Copyright CONCACAF)
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89 comments

  1. I support Nakhid not just because he is a Trinbagonian. He is well versed, honest, trustworthy and he has a clear plan and vision for FIFA. Unfortunately, it is all about money and power in FIFA not integrity or inclusion. Another “David vs Goliath” story in my book, but best of luck anyway!

  2. Not sure rank and file membership wants reform at all..

  3. Go David and we support you bringing down not one, not two, not three, not four, but six if need be, Goliaths. Hey, I’m sounding like LeBron! I have to support David here even though many sound points are made especially from men who have inside “twirls” and experiences, certainly at some level or another.

  4. well, Platini got suspended, so his chances just shot up.

  5. Still say he’d do wonders for local football n concacaf

  6. Yes. I think that is the most likely outcome for sure Keith. But the current scenario does present a golden opportunity for Nakhid. So I’m interested to see how he plays his hand.
    FIFA is running around in circles at the moment.

  7. …Wait and see. Football is not going to turn to a complete outsider to govern its affairs. The power brokers will not allow that.. A candidate will be found who is distant enough from the debacle not to be tainted but who will also protect the interests of one of the competing blocs – UEFA/USA, Africa/Third World (including CFU, such as it is) which depends on FIFA grants and support for survival. South America and Asia will sway according to the candidate and how they read him…

  8. Well, Oct 26 is nomination day and they are running out of candidates now. Two prospectives will probably be banned from all football activity at the time.

  9. …Outsiders don’t win at electoral politics. Those that work within the established system do. Outsiders need revolution to win with new politics that operates outside the machine. Look for a man with solid ties to, and support from, the traditional centres of global football power (UEFA/CONMEBOL/CAF) and/or new money (AFC/USA) to emerge and take the prize in February…

  10. ..Now Platini is out. Banned for 90 days. And David is a good guy. But world football didn’t give Figo one vote. We really think David has a chance? It’s real politik time in global football and they not voting for MSJ..

  11. He could have been the next great soccer leader but being from Trini, they won’t want another one of us.

  12. Candidates are being rocked to the core as we speak. I don’t think his candidacy is looking so crazy at the moment.

  13. Great contributions throughout but of particular interest is Tull’s 3-point comments of Wednesday August 12.

  14. The Gold Cup can be rotated between the USA, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and our sweet country Trinidad and Tobago and I done talk. Them really good yes.

  15. Not every country can host a World Cup or would even want to. I don’t think that would be the suggestion. I totally agree about the cost of it.
    I’m not a fan of countries pushing out taxpayers’ money on such projects. That hasn’t changed.
    If it can be done in a practical way, then fine. T&T doesn’t have a ground large enough to stage a final for instance. But if we got some group matches I think that would be cool.
    Funding and travel are issues for a Caribbean pro league. It can be a good thing if it works like a short three month competition or so that worked alongside domestic football rather than replaced it.
    But then who could such clubs play in CONCACAF Champions League? I don’t think that would be fair.
    So many issues. But still interesting ideas and maybe one or two of them could actually work and improve things.

  16. …This initial message is a quite an interesting read … and prelude to the mentioned manifesto …!

  17. Those stadia that you referring to cost a lot of money and are very underutilised now Lasana. They also cost a lot to maintain and that is also a problem we have in spades. Don’t get me wrong, having it outside of the US is good, but don’t spout nonsense about it rotating among all member countries because that is not happening.

    Bottom line is that I want to see well thought out proposals that are viable. Our own Pro league is struggling so you will forgive me if I find the idea of a Caribbean Professional a bit silly. I think that there is a lot of work required on the ground in all the member countries before that can be viable.

  18. Trinidad and Tobago got the stadia necessary to host the 2001 World Youth Cup. Maybe there might be another island capable of doing it or having a joint host.
    If not, if only four or five other countries in CONCACAF can do it. Isn’t that progress? Why can’t Panama host it, for instance?
    He suggested that Europe was not giving the developing world a few deal for the talent it hoovers up from there. But, like I said, there wasn’t space to get details on all his ideas.
    The Caribbean Pro League doesn’t necessarily mean pro leagues in every island. It could operate with just one or two pro leagues in certain islands, for instance.
    Of course, one has to ask the hard questions now. But because something hasn’t been done doesn’t mean it cannot be done.

  19. Lasana – I hear what you are saying but with all due respect, that talk of governments in the Caribbean developing football infrastructure is rubbish. Simply put, the money to invest isn’t there. I posted an article recently about the fact that several of the countries with the worst GDP to debt ratio globally are Caribbean countries. Most of these countries are living on the edge beyond their means. That is another reason why I have reservations about a Caribbean league.

    Btw, even with FIFA funding, that doesn’t deal with the fact that professional football leagues don’t exist in most of the Caribbean so we still talking amateurs versus pros at best.

    And in regards to developing football outside of Europe, did he talk anything about how these plans would be funded? Did he say anything about how he would get the elite to forego the funds they generate to support the global game in economies that are struggling to provide the basic necessities for their people?

    Until he does, the plans are simply untenable. I will read the Manifesto and I hope it has substance. Until such time, I remain skeptical.

    We do need change but we should not underestimate the challenges. I want him to be practical and what was put forward so far doesn’t seem so to me.

  20. David boy, Good luck but don’t step in Jack shoes you could end up in jail for life

  21. Our corrupted governments need to really see the urgency in fixing the fields in our communities eh where our professional league belongs so that the Players and coaches and the sport can get the real crowd support so that the standards can raise once again and benefit our sweet country in so many ways.Steeuuppss Them really good yes.

  22. Kendall Tull, there was no chance that I could put in more information on such stuff in this interview. It was so long already. It was more an introduction to Nakhid for a global audience.
    In terms of the Gold Cup, he spoke at length about it and believes the opportunity to host would force Govt’s and football bodies to unite to develop infrastructure. That isn’t far fetched as that is what usually happens all over the world when countries decide to host events. So it is just a matter of if the Govt sees the benefit of the tournament or not.
    Regarding the Caribbean professional game, there has always been FIFA money to develop club football in the region. But nobody every knows where it disappears to. But of course there will be issues to overcome.
    He did speak at length about how he planned to improve oversight and tournaments to develop football outside of Europe, like in Africa and CONCACAF especially.
    But this story was about 2,700 words. The average newspaper article is 600 words. I decided to leave it at an introduction to his ideas and let the other stuff be fleshed out later.
    Hopefully I will be able to publish the manifesto within two weeks and that would give people the chance to scrutinise.

  23. Savitri Maharaj is only now that you know our people is ah kind ah mental people eh, doh mess with us Trinis nah. Hahahhaha. We really good yes.

  24. And everyone one taught that when Nelson Mandela eh became the president of that racist country call South Africa eh things would have changed for the black people eh the same in the America when we voted in the first black man eh President Obama eh, so alyuh feel if David becomes the first black President of that corrupted organization call FIFA eh, things will really change eh, alyuh better wake up and smell the coffee eh or is it alyuh better smell the coffee and wake up. Them really good yes

  25. Gordon Pierre buss the files nah man buss the files how can they be innocent eh if you have their files eh, and we are still waiting to see the video of the sports minister in action eh, the same like Mr. 2 pull and though worry your self all the government hit men either in the prison or done dead already so just continue to expose them nah. Them really good yes.

  26. Kendall Tull we was waiting on you because we know that you have it down pack eh, and isn’t that the same thing that some others was working on eh, with respect to the Caribbean Professional league ask John Williams, because I remembered that it was tried before and failed miserably so I don’t know why it will work now all of a sudden, but really good points coming from you as usual. Them really good yes

  27. Maybe I’m just biased… But if Nakhid can do the job I wish him all the best in his bid to become FIFA President…. But I stand by my belief that he could do wonders for the TTFA from the ground up

  28. As Nakhid say, Sepp’s power was tied to JW, not the other way around. The caribbean was playing kingmaker to Europe and SA and he find its time we reverse that.

  29. for a second i thought this was The Late O’clock News but nope… and it’s also not Lasana’s epic satire :/

  30. Kendall Tull I think in the article says that he will reveal some stuff in 2 weeks time

  31. Some questions that aren’t answered in this piece:

    1) Rotating the Gold Cup means that countries will need the stadium infrastructure to accommodate this which isn’t the case in most of the Caribbean countries. How will this be addressed?

    2) Who is funding the Caribbean League and how are small clubs going to afford to travel to play? Again, I am not aware that there are professional clubs in most of the Caribbean so will we have pros versus amateurs? If so, how does that help develop our football regionally?

    3) Nothing in the article talks to plans for football on the global scale. How will he garner supporting the other Federations without a global plan?

    As an aside, I found that some of his comments and expectations very naive. There doesn’t seem to be a clear understanding of how the global politics influences major sporting administration. He also doesn’t make mention of the fact that although the game is richer than ever, the money is not being generated equally in the Federations. So if Europe generates more revenue than Concacaf, why should they subsidise our development? These are serious issues that impact how Fifa was run and while Blatter was popular with Africa and Asia, other Federations weren’t so keen on him to put it mildly.

    If he wants to succeed and I wish him well in that regard, he’s going to have to do a lot more than spout ideas that aren’t practical as well as have a clear plan to generate the support outside of Concacaf.

  32. and uncle Earl Mango Pierre i aint busting files because aint want to blacken inocent people careers so cutting off the snake head instead!! One for the books tho we sports minister was running when the WPL was under fire you know as we allow the thing passage he jump up at the end to claim!!!smh real clown hiding behind skirt!! smh

  33. Well you know I am backing David all the way but I am just being real in

  34. I know u will do d world of good u have the heart

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