Jeffrey Webb looks primed to remain near the top of football’s governing body.
The Cayman Islands native currently serves as Fédération Internationale de Football Association vice-president while heading up the Confederation of North Central America and the Caribbean Association Football and the Cayman Islands Football Association. Webb, 49, was picked by current FIFA president Sepp Blatter as a potential successor at the helm of the sport and looks to be keeping that position for years to come after Blatter’s biggest rival, Union of European Football Associations President Michel Platini, formally announced plans not to oppose the Swiss incumbent in next year’s elections.
Platini said last week that his desire is to focus more on European football.
“What matters here is not me or my feelings,” Platini said. “What matters is the future of UEFA, and of football. UEFA and European football have never been as strong and powerful as they are today and I have every intention of guarding this supremacy.
“We all want a more transparent FIFA that functions better, and above all we want more solidarity, and we would like FIFA to be more respected by football lovers. And I will try my best to work towards this at my own level. This is the decision I have made. It is about what I want to do with UEFA.”
One of Platini’s initiatives is to push for Europe to be allocated more World Cup places – from 13 to 15 – for the 2018 tournament in Russia. Among his other concerns is finalising the 2016 UEFA European Championship in France and planning the 2020 competition.
Platini, 59, is a former French player who has headed UEFA since 2007. He had been considered a leading presidental candidate for his public criticisms of Blatter’s policies – saying FIFA needed a “breath of fresh air” at the top. Blatter, 78, has been in power since 1998, but was lambasted over the bidding process and subsequent decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. He recently stated he was seeking re-election for a fifth term after initially saying he would step down.
Declarations for the elections are not required until January 2015. With Platini out of the picture, the lone known candidate is former FIFA deputy secretary general Jerome Champagne. Five of Fifa’s six continental bodies have already announced their support for Blatter, with only Europe publicly opposing him. Assuming Blatter is re-elected, his four-year cycle would end in 2019.
Webb figures to continue his duties within the sport as usual and he also heads up FIFA’s anti-discrimination task force. In his role as Cayman’s football chief, he has pushed for the country to be featured in more regional youth tournaments. The latest was the inaugural CONCACAF Under-15 Girls Championship which crowned Canada as champions. The local girls went undefeated in group play before being eliminated in the quarterfinals. Midfielder/forward Chelsea Green was named one of the tournament’s 11 best players and shared the Golden Boot award for scoring a competition-best six goals.
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