BUDAPEST, Hungary (CMC) – Antiguan Gordon Derrick has been elected president of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), ushering in a new era of football administration in the Caribbean.
Derrick, a career banker, received the overwhelming support from the CFU membership at its 35th Ordinary Congress held here yesterday.
In doing so, the General Secretary of the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association, beat out challenges from Barbados Football Association president Ronald Jones, veteran Trinidad and Tobago administrator Harold Taylor and Cuba Football Association chief Luis Hernandez.
Following his victory, Derrick urged unity and promised to steer the CFU in a new direction under his leadership.
“Rest assured there will be no marginalisation, discrimination or segregation under my tenure,” he told members.
“We are all vital components of this Union, each and every member has a part to play and it is only through unity can we move the Union forward.
“We have just witnessed a truly democratic election in this Union. This is the beginning of a new era; the elections are now over, let us from this moment begin the reunification process.”
Derrick’s installation as president effectively closes the chapter on the Jack Warner era of football administration.
Warner, a former FIFA vice-president and CONCACAF president, led the CFU for 21 years before resigning last year at the amidst corruption allegations at the height of the cash-for-vote scandal.
The scandal decimated the CFU and resulted in FIFA imposing bans and suspensions on several Caribbean officials. Derrick received only a reprimand.
Yesterday’s election also marked the end of the CFU Normalisation Committee which had been installed by football’s world governing body, FIFA, in the wake of the scandal.
Cayman Islands Football Federation president Jeffrey Webb, who headed that committee, told CFU members there were better days ahead for the organisation.
“Your faith may have been shaken but it was never eroded,” Webb said.
“Today is yet another step in our journey for stability; you may now look forward to a brighter future.”
For the first time, the CFU executive will comprise entirely new faces as Grenadian Cheney Joseph (first vice-president), Bermudian Larry Mussenden (second vice-president), St Lucian Lyndon Cooper (third vice-president) and Canover Watson of Cayman Islands (fourth vice-president), are all new to their posts.