… calls for support from FIFA, CFU
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – Regional football mogul Jack Warner has thrown TT$100 000 (US$15 797) of his own money behind relief efforts for disaster-stricken Haiti, and says he plans to lobby football’s world governing body, FIFA, along with the Caribbean Football Union, to follow suit.

Speaking while opening a FIFA training course here Thursday, Warner said it was imperative the Caribbean should show solidarity with Haiti, also a member of CONCACAF and the CFU.

“I am a son of the Caribbean soil (and) I cannot and will not stand idly by and allow my brothers and sisters to endure such inhumane hardships,” said Warner, who is an influential FIFA vice-president.

“I am as much a Trinidadian, as I am a Haitian, I will make every effort possible to assist in ensuring that the lives of those affected by this tragedy return to some level of normalcy soon.”

On Tuesday, Haiti was struck by a massive earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale. It resulted in massive damage and widespread loss of life in the capital Port-au-Prince.

Since then, a colossal global relief effort has been launched and Warner said he wanted to ensure that FIFA and the CFU also played significant roles.

“I have written to FIFA and I have asked that relief efforts to Haiti be discussed at the Finance Committee meeting next month,” said Warner, who is the president of CONCACAF.

“Sport has always been a tool of social transformation; it is a beacon of hope when we seem to be in an abyss of hopelessness. The pictures published on the international media depict a grim and desolate people. 

“I know that we at FIFA and CONCACAF understand our role, not only as sport administrators but our role in ensuring that we harness sport to improve the lives of those who need it most.”

Following the meeting of the FIFA Finance Committee on February 5, Warner will also discuss the Haiti crisis at the next CFU Congress scheduled for February 27.

“We are our brother’s keeper. We are a region which shares a common history, we face common challenges and we share a bond that is unbreakable,” said the Caribbean’s most powerful football figure.

“We must unite for the sake of our region. Our children and our grandchildren will judge us harshly if we fail to act on this matter. Let us not turn our backs but let us unite as a Caribbean region to save one of our own. At the CFU Congress, I know that the football family will stand united on this issue.”

Haiti have been a powerful presence in Caribbean football, winning the region’s premier tournament – the Digicel Caribbean Cup in 2007.

They are currently placed 10th in CONCACAF and 90th in the FIFA World Rankings.