Miami (Monday, January 25, 2016) – The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football’s (CONCACAF) Executive Committee today submitted for consideration of its Member Associations a package of reforms and amendments to the Confederation’s statutes. The amendments to CONCACAF’s statutes will be discussed in advance of CONCACAF’s XXI Extraordinary Congress, and voted on by Member Associations in Zurich, Switzerland, on February 25, 2016.  

The statutory changes under consideration were developed by CONCACAF’s Statutes Reform Committee to incorporate recommendations made by the FIFA Reform Committee and commitments made in the CONCACAF Reform Framework. The CONCACAF Reform Framework was unanimously approved by CONCACAF’s Executive Committee on July 4, 2015, and put in place to guide the Confederation’s reform process to separate politics from the business and administration of the game, and align the Confederation’s governance and business operations with corporate best practices.    

Specific reforms include:

• Governance: The establishment of the CONCACAF Council to replace the current Executive Committee. The CONCACAF Council will consist of up to fifteen members with representation from each of CONCACAF’s three geographic Unions, including a proposal to require three members to be independent.
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•  Independent Committees: The creation of a Compensation Committee, Governance Committee, Audit and Compliance Committee, and Finance Committee. The Compensation and Audit and Compliance Committees are to be comprised entirely of independent members. The Governance and Finance Committees are to be chaired by and comprised of a number of independent members. 
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• Ethics: A requirement for all candidates for the CONCACAF Council, CONCACAF President, standing committee members, members of judicial bodies, and senior Confederation officials to undergo eligibility checks to be conducted by an independent Ethics Committee. 
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• Term Limits: The introduction of term limits of twelve years (consecutive or non-consecutive) for CONCACAF Council members and members of independent committees. 
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• Transparency: The Congress is given authority to review and approve on an annual basis, upon the recommendation of the independent Compensation Committee, the remuneration and other compensation of CONCACAF Council members, CONCACAF representatives before FIFA, the chairpersons of the Audit and Compliance Committee, Finance Committee, Compensation Committee and the Governance Committee, and senior officials including the General Secretary, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer.
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• Accountability: The right of CONCACAF to audit any Member Association or Union receiving CONCACAF funds for a specific purpose to ensure that such funds are being used for said purpose.

Reforms to CONCACAF’s statutes are intended to bolster the operational changes that have been implemented since July 2015, including:

• The implementation of a “pre-approved” vendor system for all contracts with CONCACAF, including credit and background checks for all vendors.
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• The enactment of a new process to for negotiating and approving all vendor contracts, including sports marketing and sponsor contracts, and new requirements that all contracts pass a conflict-of-interest check, which ensures that no vendor has personal ties to a CONCACAF employee.
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• The adoption of new protocols so that no single employee of CONCACAF has final say over approving vendors or awarding contracts. All contracts are now required to go through CONCACAF’s operations, legal, and finance departments before approval.
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• The implementation of standard policies to manage and control cash inflows and outflows to ensure proper controls and transparency.
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• The introduction of a Partner Code of Conduct to govern partner relations in accordance with the highest standards of ethical conduct, social and environmental responsibility, and compliance with applicable laws.
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• The introduction of a comprehensive RFP process and hiring of independent consultants to oversee the bidding for the Confederation’s commercial rights, audit counterparties for bribery and fraud, and review internal controls.

The amendments to the Confederation’s statutes that were shared with CONCACAF Member Associations are available here.