Less than a month after Victor Montagliani was appointed president of CONCACAF on May 12, the biggest football tournament the U.S. has hosted since the 1994 World Cup -- the Copa América Centenario -- kicked off on June 3. As recently as October, it was unclear whether the 100th anniversary of the South American competition would be held in the States, as original deals for the competition were featured in the U.S. Department of Justice’s indictments against football officials in the region. But after CONMEBOL and CONCACAF recovered the broadcasting and sponsorship rights to the Copa América from marketing firm Datisa, the tournament was officially confirmed on Oct. 23. "The first thing that was big is that we were able to save this tournament out of the depths of the indictments," Montagliani said. "It’s sort of a testament to a lot of good people who worked very hard to bring this tournament back from the dead in very short order. So that’s a positive sign. I’ve always said, 'Like anything, there’s more good people than not good people in the game.' And I think the fact that we’re playing these games is a testament to the people that worked hard to get it here." Montagliani, who led the Canadian Soccer Association before taking over CONCACAF, said that the ongoing tournament is currently his "main focus." But he also mentioned the body’s recent hire of General Secretary Philippe Moggio, who previously served as the NBA’s senior VP/Latin America, and said that CONCACAF has a lot of milestones to hit in the next year. He said of Moggio, who began his tenure at the organization on Monday, "Philippe is a multi-cultural guy, multi-lingual guy. He obviously has significant experience in the sports world, significant experience in our region, dealing with being in charge of the Americas and the Caribbean for the NBA, understanding what it means to work with federations, with leagues. And also in the cross-cultural environment, so I think that was very appealing, besides his obvious P&L background and his business acumen."
More of Montagliani’s thoughts on the Copa America will be available in Friday’s Hangin’ With.
