BARBADOS FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION (BFA) president Randy Harris is facing a challenge for the top post of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).
United States Virgin Islands Soccer Association president Hillaren Frederick is vying to become CFU head who will be elected today at the CFU Congress which coincides with the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow, Russia.
Harris is the interim CFU president following former president Gordon Derrick’s six-year suspension by FIFA ethics committee last year. Antiguan Derrick served in the top post from 2012 until September last year, after he was found guilty of six different breaches of FIFA’s ethics code, including offering and accepting bribes, mismanaging funds and abusing his position.
Frederick, a former international referee and match commissioner, said he intended to bring a message of unity to the game.
“Right now there is a lot of stuff going on within the Caribbean . . . . There is a sense of separation. A lot of things happened in the recent past, then in 2011 and 2015, 2016 and now we’re here.
“Some of the members don’t like the direction the CFU is going right now, and I was asked to think about it, which I did,” he told Sunsport.
Describing himself as a loving guy who people see as a cool, quiet, listens well, and thinks before he actually speaks, he said they knew his leadership qualities and that was the reason why he was asked to oversee bringing the Caribbean together.
Frederick said his intention was “not to change much but to have continuity”, as whoever the president elect was would be serving out the remaining two years of Derrick’s term.
“I already sent out a mini manifesto; stuff that I really want to accomplish in two years. The executive committee is already in progress of putting together a strategic plan, which is a good thing. I’ve already seen it, and it just needs tweaking here and there.
“A new constitution is also going to be adopted in Moscow, so work is being done. The stuff that I want to focus on, which is 12 little points that I call focal points, I am going to try to interject them in the next two years,” he explained, adding that the 12 points were brought to his attention through the membership.
When contacted for comment Harris declined, only saying that the membership would choose the best suitable candidate for the job. (RA)
