This post was designed to create positive discussion and not Warner bashing. Please refrain from being insultive and debate maturely. Jack Warner enjoys a love hate relationship with many, and then there are those who just love to hate him. This is not restricted to people from outside T&T as he is often maligned at home also. Let me state a few facts and then see what you, illustrious and knowledgeable posters respond with. JAck Warner has taken CONCACAF from an obscure Federation to a real power broker in world soccer. He has secured, singlehandedly, 3 1/2 places for our region, and has taken CONCACAF from footballing doldrums to prominence. Under Central American control, teams in the Caribbean suffered from lack of development, programs and the region was neglected. I am not bashing anyone, merely stating facts. Under Jack Warner, representatives from all over the region have been given prominent positions in the Federation's Hierarchy. On a personal level Jack has provided monetary help to lots of players in Trinidad, from bailing one of a Lebanese jail, to providing medical care and attention to Marvin Lee when he was paralysed during an U20 game vs the uSA. Jack paid for all his treatment in the USA nad at home, took care of him financially and paid for his burial after hte unfortunate young man died. Just recently Jack paid the way for a 13 year old kid to realize his dream of seeing T&T play in the gold Cp. Jack heard of the young man's plight and duely paid for him to travel to Miami and view the games. Jack has time and time again paid for T&t's coaches, travel etc. when the TTFF had no money and the Government failed to provide aid. He fights hard for the region and tries to make it the best it can be. On the other hand he is often high handed and dictatorial He has been linked to what some ter the FIFA mafia and even at home he has been accused of controlling all monies made from broadcast revenue etc. In fact he has seemingly been involvd in Nepotism. In T&T he is known as the football God-father, put your own spin on why. LOL! He is the don as well as the saviour in the eyes of many.
I dont' want to bash...I simply want to discuss the facts. "secured singlehandedly" is interesting verbage since the additional spot(s) are a result of the performance of the region more than anything Warner himself has done. In addition, I think it is valid to say that "under Warner" CONCACAF has grown.....but it is presumptive to say that it is "because of Warner." IMO, it is equally, or moreso, the consequence of the USMNT's growth and success, adding an additional serious contender to the region.
Why did Warner have to be the President of Conacaf. I dont feel good with him being also the Pres of the MEXLEAGUE(it could be considered that way). I would rather prefer a Guatemalan, Tico, Panameno, or who ever else to be the PRES but not Jack Warner. HE looks Corrupt and $hit and I dont think he has done crap for the CONCACAF to grow.
I don´t like very much Jack Warner, but I´ve heard it was worst when Concacaf was controlled by the mexicans
Next round of voting, make sure he is deposed. Under Mexico CONCACAF was nothing...much more corruption. Jack has secured the places for CONCACAF, I know that he used the performance of CONCACAF teams in the tourney as leverage, but believe me, he was responsible, becuase he had the support of many votes in FIFA he was able to parlay that in securing more places for CONCACAF.
I am yet to hear a concrete reason why Jack is demonized. I dont feel comfortabe with the man, i have nothing nice to say about him are examples of unreasonable statements if they are not qualified with explanations.
In other words a latino should be President. And how can you with good conscience say that under Jack the Federation has not grown?
I would rather have another Trinitarian just not Jack Warner. I just cannot trust Jack Warner. I think he doesnt do any thing good for the concacaf.
So basically all he did was the basics required by the job. Anyone worth a damn could have gotten CONCACAF more spots based on the region's performance in the last 16 years. It was a slam dunk, giving Warner credit for it is a bit much. In other words, this part of his job was incredibly easy. The much harder part of his job, like balancing the needs of the smaller countries with those of the powerful nations is much harder. And to be honest, he's only been randomly succesful in that. Perhaps he doesn't deserve to be demonized, but he certainly shouldn't be celebrated. Which means the region deserves someone more aggressive with more potential for success.
I am by no means celebrating nor am I demonizing Warner. If you kow the history of the region you would realize that before warner Concacaf was in the doldrums. If you think that Warner's job is easy, then think again. He has to use strategy and intrigue to get the extra places. Someone said that FIFA is akin to the Mafia......you get the picture?
I think I understand the politics involved. But come on, the argument for extra places for CONCACAF couldn't have been easier considering the changes over the last 15 years. All I am saying is that anyone with half a brain could have accomplished that particular feat. Heck, its probably in FIFA's best interests to have done it. Sure, there were other confederation presidents arguing against it, but they were working against common sense. It was a SLAM DUNK. Do I think the CONCACAF presidency is an easy job? Hell no.....I think its very difficult and I think Warner is doing a barely adequate job. Hence I believe someone else would do better.
Mexico has played 37 games in WC history they have won 8 drawn 10 lost 19 scored 39 goals and had 75 scored on them The USA has played 17 won 4 drawn 1 lost 12 scored 18 and had 38 scored on them Costa Rica has played 4 games won 2 drawn 0 lost 2 scored 4 had 6 scored on them Honduras played 3 won 0 drawn 2 lost 1 had scored 2 had 3 scored against Cuba has played 3 won 1 drew 1 lost 1 scored 5 had 12 scored against Jamaica has played 3 won 1 drawn 0 lost 2 scored 3 had 9 scored against Canada has played in 3 won 0 drew 0 lost 3 scored 0 has 5 scored against Haiti has played 3 games won 0 drew 0 lost 3 scored 2 had 12 scored against El salvador has played 6 won 0 drew 0 lost 6 scored 1 had 22 scored against Apart from Mexico and USA, not exactly a strong howing is it? And the USA did come in last place in 1998 under Steve Sampson and had the indignity to lose to Iran!!! source: http://www.world-cup-info.com/statistics/world_cup_games_played.htm
Can you give me a name of some past president who has accomplished as much as Warner? One who had as much political clout as Warner? One who brokered as well as Warner? One who has done more than warner? I am NOT a Warner fan, and I have many reasons for my stance..ALL I AM SAYING IS GIVE JACK HIS JACKET Peace.
This means nothing....you need to compare the recent results with the results of the past. You need to consider that right now CONCACAF has two top 10 FIFA ranked teams and rarely had one in the past. These are big changes in the way the region is looked at by FIFA and the other confederations. Listen, you think Jack Warner pulled off an amazing coup by getting CONCACAF and addition spot and a playoff.....okay, I disagree. That is all.
Name me one past president that had this much growth to work with. Jack can have his jacket....whatever the heck that means.
And nowhere on this beautiful list that you copy and pasted do I see the World Cup results for the powerful T&T team, how have they fared??
T&T has never made the WC and your point is? I have asked some questions, not for my Beautiful country to be trampled upon, but to illicit some debate. MAny have blind hatred or disdain for Jack Warner I asked for rational reasons, not received any yet. Not saying that reasons do not exist, just seeking enlightenment. Thank you. And I did not copy and paste anything.
Two words: Peter Prendergast. The only reason that incompetent is even a FIFA referee, let alone working World Cup matches, is Jack Warner nepotism.
Help me understand something here..is Pendy a Trinidadian? Is there a referees committee that oversees the selection and performance of refs? Is that committee chaired by Jack Warner? I cannot see how Pendergrasts faux pas are a reflection of nepotism or any such thing. In fact on criticism ;evelled by many Trinis is that Pendy (as he is known in Jamaica) dislikes T&T and gives calls against us. I am uncertain if that is the case, but before you cry nepotism check the facts.
He's not Trinidadian, so I suppose it's not really nepotism per se. But Prendergast is apparently closely related (first cousin, IIRC) to one of Warner's business associates. Prendergast isn't biased, and I never said he was. He's just incompetent.
I'll take my shot. As for the World Cup berths, I think that just happened naturally--with the expansion of the tournament, CONCACAF had to get its share. In fact, one can argue that CONCACAF has been less successful in pushing its case than Asia, who has more berths even though they're a weaker confederation. But I don't blame Warner for that; as a CONCACAF fan, I'd rather not have more berths if the additional teams can't perform competently. Look what happened to Saudi Arabia and China last time. The WC qualifying system is something Warner does have power to affect, and has strengths and weaknesses. The Hexagonal was a great idea, and let's give him credit for that. But the preliminary structures have been of shifting quality, and this year were an absolute disgrace: rewarding Nicaragua and Belize, stiffing Cuba and Haiti, and allowing a structure that produced the unbalanced semifinal groups. The worst kind of failure, and Warner has to get the blame. The confederation club championship is stronger than it has been in quite a while, so let's give Warner some credit for that. At the same time, the confederation fooled around with such sillinesses as the Giants Cup. The Gold Cup remains a mess, what with guest teams and shifting structures. The goal seems to be money rather than competitive integrity. If we give Warner credit for improvement in the club competition, we have to blame him for the Gold Cup. Refereeing standards are fairly low, and I don't see anything that Warner has done to make them better. There have been some dreadful mistakes made in high-profile matches (Canada's qualifiers, for example), and Warner has failed to speak effectively to the problem. The name change to The Football Confederation was simply an embarrassment. I suppose it didn't do any lasting harm, but it made us look like idiots. I can't speak to whatever corruption he's involved in personally, but I don't expect anyone in power to be clean, and I suspect he's no worse than the rest of them. On balance, I don't think much of Warner. My sense is that he's full of ideas, but that he lacks the savvy to see which ones are useful and which not. He's essentially a politician rather than a football man.