Normalisation committee meets to chart new course

HAVANA, Cuba, CMC – Jeff Webb said the Caribbean Football Union is looking to write a new chapter in its history following the bribery scandal that ripped apart the organization last year.

Webb, head of the recently-established, nine-member CFU normalisation committee, was speaking ahead of the panel’s first meeting which opened yesterday in the Cuban capital.

The meeting is aimed at beginning the process of restoring the credibility of the organization in “a desperate bid to regain global trust and financial stability”.

“We simply have to move the Caribbean forward in terms of sponsorship, partnerships and morale,” said Webb, president of the Cayman Islands Football Federation, in an interview with Inside World Football.

“We’ve been through an incredible time with a lot of factions. People have had different agendas and that’s not good for potential sponsors.”

The committee was established last year, following the cash-for-votes scandal which brought the regional governing body to its knees and snared a number of high-profile administrators, including former CFU and CONCACAF president Austin “Jack” Warner.

“The damage caused is unfathomable, it devastated the entire region,” said Webb.

“People have been hurt and a lot of lives have been changed. It’s now about trying to build bridges.

“There has to be a new chapter. We must, as administrators, have a responsibility to restore our region’s integrity.”