(ATR) Legal counsel for CONCACAF Samir Gandhi tells Around the Rings the confederation’s proposed reform package passed unanimously after a thorough discussion Thursday morning in Zurich.
"It took a couple of hours and we had some thoughtful comments from people but we passed [the reforms] unanimously," he says.
"We have a pretty strong reform package and I think we go even further than FIFA does," Gandhi tells ATR. "I can’t be upset with the way it came out."
Leaders of the 41 CONCACAF Member Associations discussed the reform package two weeks ago at a meeting in Miami, Florida. Gandhi says there were a few changes that came out of the productive discussions in Miami.
"The biggest change was that we will have three independents on the CONCACAF Council but they will be non-voting members," he tells ATR. "We will still have independents on the finance committees, the audit compliance and governance committees and they are very important where we are dealing with money-in and money-out; that will be run through independent review."
Although passing the reforms is a step in the right direction, Gandhi says there is still work to be done.
"We’re moving forward; when you say moving on it makes it sound like we’ve solved the problem. We still have to work at it.
"This is a very big first step on a road to redemption. We’ve got the statutes but now we’ve got to walk the walk and we’ve got to change the culture. We’ve got to keep doing the things that we need to keep doing and really change the organization."
The CONCACAF delegates will now turn their attention to the FIFA Congress where the next president of FIFA will be chosen. CONCACAF has not expressed support for any of the five candidates but says it will unanimously support the FIFA reform package also on the docket for tomorrow’s meeting.
Written by Kevin Nutley
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