Candidate Tony James knocks CFU executive

Jermaine Lannaman, Sunday Gleaner Writer

Caribbean Football Union (CFU) presidential nominee, Jamaican Anthony James, says he does not have an issue with members of CFU's four-member executive committee taking the decision last Thursday to call a president's meeting ahead of the planned staging of its extraordinary congress, he is just unhappy with how the issue has been dealt with.

According to James, who along with Trinidadian Harold Taylor, and Antigua and Barbuda's Gordon Derrick have been nominated for the post of president, the call for the CFU president's meeting to iron out pressing matters is a legitimate call, but one that should have been made a long time ago.

He also felt that the president's meeting, which was suggested as a compromise by himself and other presidential aspirants, could have been held a day before the planned staging of the extraordinary congress, which was scheduled for Montego Bay, St James, today and tomorrow.

The president's meeting, which also got the blessing of FIFA last Thursday, is slated to held at the headquarters of the world-governing body in Zurich, Switzerland, in late December in the presence of president Joseph 'Sepp' Blatter.

delayed confronting issue

"We are not in disagreement with the executive of the CFU that there needed to be a president's meeting ahead of the extraordinary congress. Our only disagreement is that they had a long time to deal with the issue, but they felt that things could be put off indefinitely, and would be brushed under the carpet," said James.

"We are not here to resist the directives of the CFU or FIFA, as the CFU executive has been elected to represent and support members of the CFU.

"We can only try to guide members of the executive as to what needs to be done, as the constitution is sacrosanct, and to do anything that is illegal, such as appointing persons to positions contrary to the constitution, would set a bad precedent," he added.

The illegality of appointment to which James is referring is the decision by the executive committee to promote member, Haitian Yves Jean Bart, to the post of acting president, which according to James, as per CFU's constitution, is illegal.

"The officer core of the union has been removed as a result of actions by FIFA. The president (Jack Warner) has resigned, and the two vice-presidents have been disciplined or removed," explained James.

"So what you have happening is the rest of the executive trying to co-opt people to serve, and they don't have the authority to do so.

"The four members of the executive don't have the right to appoint an officer, as for every meeting to be legal, you have to have at least two elected officers," he said.

The CFU's executive, at present, is completed by Victor Daniel of Grenada, Luis Fernandez of Cuba, Jeffrey Webb of the Cayman Islands, and Jean Francisa of Curaçao.