The first move has been made towards a Caribbean football breakaway aimed at forming a seventh confederation so the region can fully recover from years of corruption.

Antigua's Gordon Derrick, president of the Caribbean Football Union, was given the go-ahead after an executive committee summit in Miami to prepare the road map for the 31-strong CFU to split from North and Central America's CONCACAF and become the Caribbean Football Confederation.

The blueprint is understood to have the support of 26 of the Caribbean territories who are fed up with being dictated to by the American and Canadian powerbrokers on CONCACAF and want the freedom to fund their own youth development. This includes setting up annual junior tournaments that had been blocked.

Antigua's Gordon Derrick has been given the go-ahead for a Caribbean football breakaway

The CFU have been the main casualty of having three successive rogue CONCACAF presidents in Jack Warner, Jeffrey Webb and Alfredo Hawit, whose serial fraud charges include syphoning off TV rights money that could have transformed Caribbean football.

Derrick's powerful address in Miami said a new way had to be found following years of oppression despite the CFU comprising 31 of CONCACAF's 41 representatives.

This second-class status has led to Caribbean football achieving only a fraction of what it could do as a formidable independent force on FIFA.

The CFU have suffered from three successive rogue CONCACAF presidents in Jack Warner (pictured), Jeffrey Webb and Alfredo Hawit

Wayne Rooney's comments during his tribute evening speech about the 'huge gap between the media and the players… and the quicker they meet in the middle, the better it will be for English football', resonated with the FA.

The first step should be to put a stop to the micro-management of every moment a player has with the press.

Even England players who are prepared to talk in the interview area after matches don't do so unless they are on the approved FA list.

Wayne Rooney was honoured by the Football Writers Association at a ceremony on Sunday

Conspicuous by his absence when Rooney, speaking without notes, went through the managers who have had an impact on his career was England boss Gareth Southgate, who was in the audience.

However, Rooney had a decent chat with Southgate in the VIP reception - and their relationship is said to be fine.

Also, Rooney hasn't worked under Southgate long enough to bracket him with Roy Hodgson, Fabio Capello and Sven Goran Eriksson. One-match England boss Sam Allardyce wasn't name-checked either.

Rooney failed to mention current England boss Gareth Southgate during his awards speech

It is hard to fathom how the ECB could have parted company with Maria O'Donoghue, their popular and highly efficient media operations manager.

O'Donoghue failed in applying for her own job following restructuring by events director Steve Elworthy, who concentrates between tournaments on keeping his own head well below the parapet.

RIO'S DOUBLE BUNGLE

Rio Ferdinand, who let down Wayne Rooney by pulling out of speaking at his tribute night at late notice, could have been there after all.

Ferdinand's business trip to Canada never took place because his visa application was incorrectly filled out due to an 'administrative error' — the same reason given for Rio being double-booked. Ferdinand contacted the Football Writers' Association to say he could attend but was told Darren Fletcher had replaced him.

Rio Ferdinand missed out on the chance to speak at Rooney's night because of an admin error

And Fletcher's words about Rooney on the night couldn't have been matched by Ferdinand, with the FWA high command making it clear the West Bromwich captain had a lot more chance of a tribute evening in his honour than Ferdinand.

There was some angst among guests that the dinner had to be put back by over an hour because the guest of honour, who came down from Manchester by helicopter, was late.

However, he was forgiven when it transpired the reason for the delay was son Kit's first birthday party.

Rooney was late to his tribute evening after attending his son Kit's first birthday party

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