MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, CMC – The Finals of the 2012 Digicel Caribbean Cup will be contested between June and July.
Jack Warner, president of the Caribbean Football Union, announced on Monday that the region’s premier tournament will undergo a massive transformation for the 2011-12 season.
The announcement followed a CFU Congress on Monday in this ritzy Jamaica north-coast city.
“The 2010 edition of this competition catapulted Caribbean football into another chapter of our great story,” said Warner, who is also a vice president of the sport’s World governing body.
“But we cannot sit idly by and allow our leading ship to sail on seas of uncertainty. Our actions plant the seeds that become our fate, and eventually blossoms into our destiny, a destiny of greatness.”
Warner hopes that the switch of dates for the tournament would allow the region’s best players to make themselves available after playing in overseas leagues, and that they contest the Finals.
“Our game is developing, and we as administrators must continue to pursue strategies which will foster further growth,” he said. “We must strive for excellence.
“I am cognizant of all of the complaints made by our members over the difficulties they encounter in gaining access to their internationally-based players.”
He added: “But this competition must be used as a device to propel our talent onto the World stage, and by allowing our federations greater access to their international talent, we will ensure that the standard of the competition is lifted.
“We also must alter the rules of engagement to ensure our players are given the best possible opportunities. . .We will be transforming this competition into one comparable to all other international competitions.”
About two-dozen teams took part in last year’s DigiCup, which was contested between September and December, and was won by Jamaica.
The Congress also decided to review – with CONCACAF – the format and regulations for the Caribbean Club Champions Cup, which decides the CFU’s three berths in the CONCACAF Champions League.
The Club Champions Cup will be staged from March to May 2011, and regional bosses intend to implement changes, which would result in an increase in the participation level for the 2012 tournament.
“Our tournaments are our lifelines, they are vital to our survival and future,” said Warner.
“Our local teams harness and shape our home-grown talent and our younger players. It is a work in progress, but through perseverance and commitment we can transform club football in the region.”
The Congress also re-elected Warner as president, Horace Burrell of Jamaica and Colin Klass of Guyana as vice presidents, and Lionel Haven of the Bahamas, Victor Daniel of Grenada, Luis Hernandez of Cuba and Yves-Jean Bart of Haiti to the CFU executive committee.
All seven ran unopposed.
