The news continues to roll out in the wake of massive arrests carried out by the Department of Justice alongside Swiss authorities around the world. Many of the questions by fans have to do with more immediate issues that have arisen involving tournaments set to take place this summer in CONCACAF.
The first worry is the Women's World Cup, which is set to kick off in a matter of days.
Officials from FIFA are slated to descend on Canada to kick the tournament off, while also handing out the trophy to the winner in Vancouver. The question now is: will they even show up to the tournament? While the Canadian government hasn't handed out any indictments against FIFA officials, it's well know that they work closely with American law enforcement. If more arrest warrants are handed down for those officials it'll be interesting to see who shows up to represent their federation. Another question about the World Cup is who would represent CONCACAF as the region hosts another tournament.
Now we know the answer to that.
Senior CONCACAF Vice President Alfredo Hawit has been named President after Jeffrey Webb was arrested and provisionally dismissed as President of CONCACAF. He will be the man representing the region during the World Cup in June and the Gold Cup in July. He'll be the one handing out the trophy come the end of July when the Gold Cup has a winner.
Another change is the removal of General Secretary Enrique Sanz, with Ted Howard stepping into the postition. The confederation is distancing themselves from Sanz as he was a former Vice President of Traffic Sports, which pled guilty to a litany of charges.
Perhaps the most important change at CONCACAF is the appointment of Sunil Gulati from the US, Victor Montagliani of Canada and Justino Compean of Mexico to a Special Committee to help run the business of the region. This is a huge shift in power in CONCACAF, long run by the Carribean Football Union through sheer weight of votes. With these three federation presidents now in charge, it's a clear sign that the money behind the region is looking to take back some of the power.
With investigations still ongoing into CONCACAF, and Jack Warner already telling anyone who wants to listen where to find corruption (even before he's been handed over to the FBI), it's clear that a major shift in the region is happening. Just how long the mainland countries in North and Central America can hold onto that power will be the most interesting thing to keep an eye on from the fallout.
With Traffic Sports now in disgrace, and Sunil in the Special Committee, it's possible Soccer United Marketing, the marketing arm of MLS, could be asked to run that tournament in their stead.
Whatever the case, fans can rest assured that the business of CONCACAF will continue without a hitch. The Women's World Cup will kick off without a problem and the Gold Cup will be held to equally full stadiums too.
Who shows up from FIFA for either tournament will be telling, and is still up in the air.