KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC) – Jamaica’s football chief Captain Horace Burrell says he will throw his support behind Cayman Islands FA head, Jeff Webb for the presidency of CONCACAF, effectively ruling himself out of the running for the top post. Burrell is a senior member of the confederation that governs the game in North, Central American and the Caribbean and speculation was rife that he would contest the race for the presidency.
“I have decided to throw my support behind the president of the Cayman Islands Football Association Jeff Webb,” the Jamaica Observer quoted Burrell as saying.
“He has asked for my support and having done a lot of work in the recent months I’ve decided to give him that support.”
He added: “It is very important (for someone from the Caribbean Football Union to lead CONCACAF) because over the years we’ve discovered that the Caribbean is a very diverse community in so far as the whole football development is concerned, and having a Caribbean person as head of CONCACAF would always be a great help to the enhancement of football throughout the region.”
CONCACAF will elect a new president on May 23 as it seeks to rebuild following the resignation of former football strongman Jack Warner last year.
Burrell, once a key Warner ally, had long been viewed as a possible successor but was hit with a three-month FIFA ban along with several other CFU officials for his role in the cash-for-votes scandal which rocked the region last year.
Earlier this month, however, he was appointed a member of the FIFA Organising Committee for the Olympic football tournaments, only 20 days after his ban ended.
Burrell said at the moment, it was important that he lend his energies to the CFU region.
“At this time I have decided to throw my support behind him (Webb) at the CONCACAF level so that I can concentrate on the Caribbean region as a whole,” he explained.
“I think that very strong leadership is needed at this time within the Caribbean region and I fully understand the dynamics of the region and it would be sad not to devote my all to developing the Caribbean region and so my concentration at this time is to work with our people in the region.”
Warner, former powerful FIFA vice-president, led CFU and CONCACAF for decades before his resignation from all football posts at the height of the cash-for-votes scandal.
His tenure in charge of CONCACAF was expected to end in 2015.