





President Victor Montagliani says he will continue to vigorously prosecute his One CONCACAF agenda for the benefit of the game across its spread despite a recent swipe by detractors.





The Canadian businessman, who is eight months into his mandate as head of the subcontinental grouping, has repelled assaults in an

Inside World Football article published on Monday which characterised CONCACAF as enslaving the Caribbean.





The piece, which made the rounds in football’s circles — high and low — accused powerful member the USA and Montagliani of leading a campaign of institutionalised marginalisation of the 31-member Caribbean subset of CONCACAF.





Though there were no comments by Caribbean officials to support the claims in the stinging story, it went on to broadbrush CONCACAF and its purported mistreatment of the Caribbean.





The article was inspired in the first instance by a recent meeting of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), where it claimed that the discussion of a proposed breakaway from CONCACAF was raised at the sitting.





In a statement, the CFU membership has sinced distanced itself from any such discussion taking place at the meeting, and instead has reaffirmed its commitment to the confederation and its One CONCACAF manifesto, which seeks, in part, to cement a philosophy of a united grouping.

CFU president Gordon Derrick, who was quoted in the Inside World Football article as it related to the proposed cessation talks, in a full-length interview with the Jamaica Observer last week, said he is open to any discussion on the subject.





"I would like to hear the pros and cons from everybody and I would really encourage a debate to begin; we can talk about it in the first instance and get a feel," he said then.





Montagliani, meantime, said while he is a staunch believer in a free press and people’s right to fair comment, argued there should always be a basis of fact in the exercise of those rights.





"First and foremost I am disappointed with the tone and the language that was used ( Inside World Football artice). I don’t think there is any need to use words like slavery in today’s day and age, and that type of language is definitely not welcomed.





"However, the vast majority of presidents (in the Caribbean), who have called me, have disassociated themselves from the notion of the article and the tone of the article, and I am not surprised that the article was fiction based.





"I think for us in CONCACAF our focus is on One CONCACAF, and I think it is important to talk facts not fiction and the facts are that the mandate has been very clear, the support from the presidents have been very clear, and we have put our money where our mouth is in respect to pushing the agenda forward regarding development," Montagliani told the Observer earlier this week.





The FIFA vice-president reiterates CONCACAF’s commitment to all its members, but noted that the Caribbean remains a prioritised focus of the developmental agenda.





"In fact, just last week our Centre of Excellence for coaches and technical directors started their first session in Mexico, where the vast majority of the technical directors there were from the Caribbean.





"We continue to prioritise and build the Caribbean, but not only the Caribbean, but other areas of CONCACAF. I have always been consistent where the needs are and obviously infrastructure is important — not only in the Caribbean, but also in Central America as I think it’s important not to isolate anybody," Montagliani said.





He conceded that the Caribbean’s infrastructural needs may be most urgent, but warned that will never be a quick fix, even with the best efforts on CONCACAF’s part.





"There is no doubt that infrastructural development is the key, but it is not going to happen in six months as those are long-term planning.





"I think that’s one of things we have learnt from the past, and that is to plan properly and not expecting things to happen overnight. I think that by being disciplined, by being determined, we will see successes in the Caribbean and in other parts of CONCACAF," Montagliani noted.





The Canadian, who was elected president of the confederation last May in an unprecendented split of the Caribbean’s 31 votes, said the success of One CONCACAF will be expedited when the ugly past is finally interred.





"We will forge forward with a united CONCACAF, but we must reject the past. A past that was built on a lack of integrity, a past that was built on misinformation, and that’s one thing that One CONCACAF has rejected and that’s why I feel supported by the presidents.





"The contact with them (Caribbean presidents) over the past few days has not only assured me, but has assured them that we are moving forward in the correct direction. I think everybody knows that alone you can get somewhere very quickly, but only together we can go far," Montagliani said philosophically.





The outgoing president of the Canadian Soccer Association said an update of his One CONCACAF manifesto at a meeting of its members last month was well received by the membership.





"It was clearly evident that our members, not only those from the Caribbean, but Central America, were satisfied as when we treat things in CONCACAF, we are not just looking at things in isolation.





"Yes, you might be emphasising some developments in the Caribbean, but it is not in isolation," Montagliani noted.





"We have launched a new Caribbean League with respect to amateur and semi-pro clubs that we announced at that December meeting. We are looking at initiatives in the women’s side of the game, which will specifically benefit the Caribbean girls, which we think have massive potential," Montagliani concluded.





Confederation members have started to draw down on the annual One CONCACAF Development Fund of US$125,000 to each member, with the possibility of that sum being increased this year, Montagliani had said two weeks ago.