CONCACAF opens New Kingston office

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) has opened a new regional office in at the Courtleigh Corporate Centre, in New Kingston, as part of what it says is its effort to accelerate football development throughout the Caribbean.

CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani was the special guest at the official opening of the office on Wednesday night and he described the move as a landmark for the entire region.

"This is a milestone for the confederation and its 41-member associations. With the completion of the office, we take an important step towards accomplishing our 'One CONCACAF' vision to further invest in football and achieve prosperity in the game," he said.

The "One CONCACAF" initiative was conceived by its president Victor Montagliani, with the aim of setting up a financial assistance programme to aid the development of football in these member associations. It will see a pay out of US$125,000 to each on a yearly basis.

BEST CHOICE

The office will be headed by Horace Reid who will now serve in the role of CONCACAF Caribbean Football Director and Montagliani said that Reid was the best choice for the role.

"There's no doubt of Jamaica's pedigree in CONCACAF, not just in the Caribbean," Montagliani said.

"There have been offices here in the past, not from a CONCACAF perspective but from a Caribbean perspective. I thought it was important that we establish roots here and Horace was the obvious choice with his pedigree as an administrator in the global game, not just the Caribbean region. So to build a team around him, to service our members in the Caribbean and to push our One CONCACAF platform forward as it relates to development and the operation of the competitions, it was just an obvious choice."

Reid said that he is not in the role for special recognition or praise, and described himself as just another member of the office when it opens its door for business.

"I'm just one of the vehicles," he said. "I'm not here to position myself as the leader of the vehicle. I'm just a member of the vehicle - a member of the team that is trying to elevate the football across the region ..."

CONCACAF's 41-member associations are broken down into three from North America, seven from Central America and 31 from the Caribbean.

CONCACAF is headquartered in Miami, Florida but also has another regional office in Guatemala to oversee its affairs in Central America.