Montagliani happy with imprint of One Concacaf in 2018

CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani is pleased with the achievements of the confederation in 2018, and will no doubt find pleasure sharing the success stories with stakeholders at congress in Las Vegas, Nevada, tomorrow.

For the 41-member organisation that he leads has so much to celebrate, having seemingly made a deep imprint in a busy 2018 that has seen the introduction and the successful implementation of many programmes, most of them of a developmental nature and aimed at fundamentally creating more access to all of the confederation’s 41 member associations.

As he puts it, Montagliani — the chief architect of the One Conacaf Vision that fuels a re-imagined confederation — says the success of 2018 has to be measured in multiple tangibles across a broad portfolio.

“There is a lot to celebrate as we reflect on 2018…I don’t think there is any one thing we are particularly proud of, but more the delivery of our performance by the Concacaf family, and particularly our staff and our presidents in our confederation,” the Canadian told the Jamaica Observer as he looked to address the 34th congress at the Cosmopolitan Hotel.

Montagliani, who is just about two and half years at the helm of the confederation that governs the game in North and Central America and the Caribbean, says while the year will be remembered for numerous iconic activations, there are those that will be spoken of in special tones.

“From an organisation standpoint, there is tremendous pride in the launch of the Nations League. And when I see the results and emotions, and not only from players, but from fans and the presidents, I am especially proud knowing that this is something you thought about and try to bring forward, and watching it come to fruition,” he shared.

The Concacaf Nations League completed the one-off qualification phase on Sunday, and will have a red carpet draw this evening at 7:00 pm local time at the Chelsea Theatre of the ritzy Cosmopolitan Hotel on Las Vegas’s famous hip strip.

The draw exercise, to be conducted by Concacaf Chief Football Officer Manolo Zubiria and to be attended by Concacaf’s president and football luminaries, will subdivide the three Leagues — A, B and C — into groups.

Another area of pride for the confederation is the expansion of the Gold Cup, which moves from 12 to 16 nations for the 2019 edition. This signature achievement, more significantly, is the move to have Central America and the Caribbean hosting games for the first time in a novel build out of the Gold Cup platform.

“I am also proud of the Gold Cup going to Costa Rica and the impending excitement of the announcement of the Caribbean host — and we know that this will be a tremendous success,” he said.

The Scotiabank Next Play Cup and Academy, which had its pilot staging in Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas and Barbados recently, is also dear to Montagliani’s heart.

“We also see the success of our grass roots programme, Nextplay and the revamping of our youth competitions, our referees programme and our academy in Mexico — where the main beneficiaries have come from the Caribbean and Central America,” said the Fifa vice-president.

The rebranding of Concacaf and the acquisition of new headquarters in the heart of Miami’s business district speaks to the organisation’s corporate rejuvenation and forward-thinking mentality.

“Of course our rebranding was a tremendous success, and the opening of our new offices.

“We are happy to report also that we have retained all our sponsors over the last two and half years and we have had new ones come on board, so with our new programmes and initiatives I think our future looks bright on the corporate side,” Montagliani outlined as he summarised Concacaf’s varied successes.

The successful united bid 2026, as the Concacaf boss regales, represents a key cornerstone of a successful 2018.

“The United Bid was a tremendous success, and as (former) president of the Canadian Soccer Federation and one of the architects of the concept of the joint bid and also someone who was a main driver of the bid process with the federation presidents, this is a big source of pride — together USA, Canada and Mexico won it.

“And despite all of the noise leading up to the bid, we are happy that all of our members voted on behalf of the united bid as this will be good for Concacaf more than anything else,” Montagliani explained.

The Canadian businessman says while each item on the list of accomplishments deserves to be celebrated individually, it is their place on the broader spectrum that is crucial in the

continued execution of the One Concacaf vision that counts most of all.

“In and of themselves these are great things, but as a collective, I think that is what makes them especially strong,” Montagliani beamed.

“One Concacaf is really the DNA of our philosophy and is something really coming from my football soul, but it is the people who have driven this, the presidents… through transparency and heart-toheart discussions, and the connection of people that has made One Concacaf’s success so tangible,” Montagliani told the Observer earlier this week, with more details to be outlined at congress tomorrow.

Having laid the foundation by an aggressive campaign of development and growth in 2018, the Concacaf president says 2019 “is more hard work and more coming together”, and members, partners and the broader stakeholder porfolio can expect to hear more of his Vision 2030 plans in Las Vegas.

“I have launched my ‘Vision 2030’ with the presidents, so 2019 is really about taking an inventory to see where we are and where we want to go, and to be strategic about it to ensure that it is sustainable for the next decade.

“I think overall the members are feeling positive, and in 2019 I have no reason to believe that this spirit will not continue,” Montagliani ended.