Football
9y

CONCACAF provisionally bans indicted president Jeffrey Webb

CONCACAF has provisionally banned president Jeffrey Webb one day after his U.S. indictment on corruption charges, the organizing body announced on Thursday.

Webb led the confederation that oversaw football in North and Central America and the Caribbean for FIFA and was one of many officials arrested in Switzerland on Wednesday as the U.S. pursues charges tied to bribery over tournaments under his watch.

CONCACAF promoted senior vice president Alfredo Hawit of Honduras to replace Webb.

According to the indictment, competitions being investigated by the U.S. include CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the CONCACAF Champions League, and the CONMEBOL/CONCACAF Copa America Centenario.

Webb also served as a FIFA vice president and the leader of the Cayman Islands national federation. Eduardo Li, who was arrested alongside Webb, was also dismissed as the president of the Costa Rica federation.<

CONCACAF general secretary Enrique Sanz was placed on a leave of absence and replaced by his deputy, American Ted Howard.

The body's executive committee also set up a special committee consisting of the presidents of the three North American countries -- the United States' Sunil Gulati, Mexico's Justino Compean and Canada's Victor Montagliani -- to examine "all of the business operations of the Confederation."

"While we are profoundly disappointed by the allegations made by authorities that again, CONCACAF has been the victim of fraud, we remain committed to CONCACAF's goal to develop, promote and manage the game of soccer," Hawit said in a statement.

"We have now taken the appropriate steps to maintain our operations and continue to deliver on our commitments to all of our constituents, including our fans, members, as well as commercial and broadcast partners.

"We also continue to cooperate with the ongoing investigation by governmental authorities, which have not placed any restrictions on our ongoing activities."

^ Back to Top ^