The prospect of a professional Caribbean Football League "took a significant step forward" last weekend, according to Paul Nicholson of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. FIFA VP and CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb announced the confederation will be naming a new task force "to examine the feasibility and sustainability of the Caribbean Professional League initiative." The desire for a professional league in the region "has long been talked about but to date no concrete steps have been taken to establish a framework." The intervention of Webb and the confederation to kick-start a process will "undoubtedly turn talk into action." If CONCACAF is committed to bringing some of its support, resources and growing contacts to the project then the chances of a league coming to fruition "are greatly increased." The intervention by Webb, who is from the Cayman Islands, also "sends a message" to the Caribbean Football Union that "something needs to be done to progress the standard of top level football in a region that excels in other sports (like athletics and cricket) but has under-performed in football despite producing a number of world class players." Crucial to the establishment of a Caribbean league "will be support from local and league sponsors and there is much work to be done in that area." Digicel, at the Sport Summit in Grand Cayman at the end of last month, said that it "was prepared to support the proposal." But it is "unlikely that the league could be supported by Digicel cash alone" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 11/4).
