Guatemala City (AFP) - Victor Montagliani was re-elected as president of the Football Confederation of North and Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) at the body's ordinary congress on Saturday.
The Canadian ran unopposed and was re-elected by acclamation to a four-year term to run from 2023-2027 -- during which the region will see Mexico, the United States and Canada host the 2026 World Cup.
Montagliani was first elected in 2016 and helped implement reforms after former CONCACAF presidents Jeffrey Webb and his interim successor Alfredo Hawit were indicted by the US Department of Justice in corruption scandals.
Montagliani has overseen the expansion of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the launch of the CONCACAF Nations League and the development of a new men's and women's international calendar.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who attended the CONCACAF congress and the congress of the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) in the colonial city of Antigua, Guatemala, said the region could look forward to rapid development in the game with the advent of the 2026 World Cup.
"The next edition of the FIFA World Cup will provide unprecedented opportunities for the development of soccer not only throughout North America, but also in Central America," Infantino told UNCAF members.
"This next World Cup in North America is going to be the World Cup of the Americas," he said."It's going to be the World Cup that will change the balance in soccer, because we are going to focus our work in this part of the world."
During the UNCAF congress, Panamanian Pedro Chaluja was elected as president for the 2023-2027 period, replacing Guatemalan Rafael Tinoco, who led the sports body for 16 years.
