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The Editor Speaks: Cayman Islands football – where are the changes?

Colin Wilsonweb2Bruce Blake is no longer President of the Cayman Islands Football Association (CIFA) but still wields the greatest power. He is Vice-president of the CIFA and
this month at the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) XXXIX Ordinary Congress he was elected on to the Executive Committee.

Blake supported the disgraced CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb, he was a personal friend of him, and was with him when Webb was arrested in Zurich.

There have been no charges or hints of charges brought against Blake but his association also with Canover Watson, former CIFA treasurer, and now imprisoned, has raised many, many eyebrows.

Even when our government said they will not send any funding to CIFA unless the old board of the CIFA goes Blake resisted and got himself elected President of CIFA even when there is an ongoing investigation into the CIFA accounts because of red flags raised by the last Independent Audit of those accounts. Blake finally after immense pressure released the CIFA presidency to Lee Ramoon who promised change “in baby steps”.

That was not what government nor any of us who love the sport wanted to hear so government will very sensibly not reverse their position.

The old guard that controls Caribbean football along with its tainted reputation cling on to power and one must question “why”? It does the sport no good and raises all sorts of questions and the answers that quickly form in our brains are not positive at all. In fact they produce the worst scenarios.

To us outsiders, it is a puzzle. If these people tainted by association and were there with blinkered eyes and ears stuffed with cotton wool, as they all profess to be amazed at the scandals, the thefts, the bribery, etc. going on around them, think they are the best qualified to continue in these high posts, they must be living in cloud cuckoo land.

None of us buy it.

Antiguan Gordon Derrick continues for another four years as CFU president. He took over CFU after Jack Warner left. Warner, whose very name makes most people squirm.

There is deep distrust between CFU and CONCACAF. There is deep distrust between the Cayman Islands government and CIFA.

And Bruce Blake is still there.

Whilst he is, holding all that power, there will be no change and our football will unfortunately suffer. And Ramoon’s baby steps for change? The baby isn’t even walking. Even the CIFA website isn’t working.

No change. No gains. No money. Website? Perhaps I should have spelt that WEBB site?

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