Austin "Jack" Warner (b. January 26, 1943), a Trinidad and Tobago football executive and businessman, is FIFA Vice-President and CONCACAF President. A former school teacher (history), he is the owner of Joe Public F.C., a professional football club based in Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago.[1] Jack Warner has been a member of the FIFA Executive Committee since 1983, and CONCACAF President since 1990. His Presidential term will end in 2011.[2] In October 2007 Warner was appointed United National Congress Alliance chairman and co-leader, to lead the party into Trinidad and Tobago's November 5 General Election.[3] Warner was elected as the Member of Parliament for Chaguanas West. The UNC-A won 15 of 41 seats.
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Corruption
Warner has been accused of corruption on BBC's Panorama for repeatedly taking advantage of his position for financial gain. FIFA's auditors, Ernst & Young, estimated that his family made a profit of at least $1 million from reselling 2006 World Cup tickets that Warner had ordered.[4][5] Minutes of FIFA’s executive committee indicate that a fine of almost $1 million, equal to the expected profiteering, was imposed on the family.[6] Despite numerous reminders from FIFA, only $250,000 has been paid.[7]
Controversy
Warner once again caused controversy in an interview with the BBC about England's chances of holding the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He asserted that "England invented the sport but has never made any impact on world football" despite being one of only seven nations to ever lift the world cup, "England is an irritant", and that "Nobody in Europe likes England". Furthermore Warner proposed that, if the World Cup were to be held in Europe, it should be held in Italy, Spain, or France (countries that last hosted the competition in 1990, 1982 and 1998 respectively). He said that he would "battle to bring...the tournament to his region"[8] where the USA last hosted the finals in 1994. Mexico hosted in 1970 and 1986.[9][10]
Before the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Warner, as special advisor to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation, brokered a deal between the Federation and the players on Trinidad and Tobago's 2006 World Cup team to share the proceeds from their participation in the World Cup. After the tournament the Federation declared revenue of TT$18.25 million, costs of TT$17.9 million and offered the players a split of TT$5,644.08 per player. The players rejected this figure, disputing the Federation's numbers. Warner criticized the players for refusing to accept the T&TFF's unaudited statement, saying “What Trinidad is suffering from is from a situation whereby 16 or 18 players are holding a country and a federation to ransom because of greed.”[11][12] Shaka Hislop, the interim president of the Football Players Association of Trinidad and Tobago responded with a letter to Warner writing “You have continually proven yourself heavily biased and opinionated in this matter.” The Trinidad and Tobago government later revealed that the Federation received in excess of TT$173 million for their part in the tournament in Germany.
References
- ^ James, Jennie. "Last Man Standing", Time Inc., 2002-05-19. Retrieved on 2007-05-31.
- ^ "Jack Warner re-elected as CONCACAF President", CONCACAF, 2007-03-14. Retrieved on 2007-03-21.
- ^ Chan Tack, Clint. "Panday, Warner lead UNC Alliance", Daily News Limited, 2007-10-05. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
- ^ Jennings, Andrew. "The Beautiful Bung: Corruption and the World Cup", BBC, 2006-06-11. Retrieved on 2006-12-10.
- ^ Norman-Culp., Sheila. "Blatter denies involvement in graft probe", The Associated Press, 2007-03-23. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
- ^ Jennings, Andrew. "FIFA chief's son in $1m scam fine", Daily Mail, 2007-03-13. Retrieved on 2007-03-13.
- ^ Jennings, Andrew. "FIFA chief's World Cup ticket scam", Daily Mail, 2006-09-12. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
- ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6939170.stm Fifa man opposes England 2018 bid
- ^ - Potential CONCACAF hosts discussed
- ^ US touted as a possible for 2018
- ^ Herborn, Michael. "Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation said to understate World Cup earnings by USD 25 million", Play the Game, 2007-09-24. Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
- ^ Liburd, Lasana. "T&TFF got more than $173m", Daily Mail, 2007-09-15. Retrieved on 2007-09-30.
External links
- The house that Jack built: From "villain" to Godfather FIFA Vice President Austin "Jack" Warner turns misfortune into dollars. 2000. Camille Moreno, Trinidad Guardian.
