Warner: CFU Cup needs a revamp
Jack Warner, president of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), has said that the region’s leading football competition, the Caribbean Champions Cup, will undergo a massive transformation in the 201½012 season.Warner made the announcement following a meeting of the CFU’s executive committee earlier this week at the Iberostar Resorts, Montego Bay, Jamaica, attended by Bermuda Football Association (BFA) president Larry Mussenden, treasurer Andrew Griffith and general secretary David Sabir.“The 2010 edition of this competition catapulted Caribbean Football into another chapter of our great story,” said Warner. “But we cannot sit idly by and allow our leading ship to sail on seas of uncertainty. Our actions plant the seeds that become our fate and eventually blossoms into our destiny..a destiny of greatness.”Twenty-three teams took part in last year’s Caribbean Champions Cup. The tournament, which took place from September to December, comprised of three stages.However, as the CFU embark on a number of initiatives to advance the regional game, the executive committee has instructed the CFU’s secretariat to actively pursue plans to stage the event earlier in the year.The CFU boss said: “I’m cognisant of all of the complaints made by our members over the difficulties they encounter in gaining access to their internationally based players.“This competition must be used as a device to propel our talent onto the world stage and, by allowing our Federations greater access to their international talent, we will ensure that the standard of the competition is lifted.“We cannot and must not waste this glorious opportunity afforded to us, but we also must alter the rules of engagement to ensure our players are given the best possible opportunities.”The Caribbean Champions Cup is not the only competition the CFU executive committee is planning to alter as it also announced plans to review the format and regulations related to the Club Champions Cup.The Club Champions Cup will be staged from March to May 2011 and the executive intends to implement changes which would result in an increase in the participation level for the 2012 edition.Bermuda’s defending Premier Division champions Dandy Town travel to Trinidad for their first leg match of the CFU Caribbean Championships against Defence Force which will be played on March 9, with the return leg to be held at BAA Field on –March 20.
