JAMAICA will host the CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship in November of this year for a place in the FIFA Women’s World Cup of 2014, it was announced at the 38th CONCACAF Ordinary Congress in Panama recently.

Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) boss Captain Horace Burrell in reacting to Jamaica being granted the hosting rights, said the country is establishing itself as a location that is suited for hosting international football tournaments.

“We have hosted international tournaments before, and like we did with the CONCACAF Under-17 Men’s Championships a few years ago in Montego Bay, we will no doubt deliver a good show for which more details will become available in the coming months,” he said.

“There stands to be broad-based benefits, as an event like this will bring tourists to our shores from all the competing nations within the CONCACAF, which includes the USA, Canada and Mexico, so it’s a great opportunity for football and Jamaica,” added Burrell, who was elected unopposed as a vice-president of the sub-continental body at the Panama assembly.

The FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup will be played in Costa Rica from March 15 to April 14, and three teams from the Championship will qualify along with the hosts.

The Cayman Islands, the home of CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb, will host the Under-20 equivalent.

Meanwhile, CONCACAF told its members that for its unaudited books ending December 2012, it has some US$35 million in the bank, with another US$14 million in receivables, but said it is liable for an estimated US$1.8 million to the US Internal Revenue Service as the organisation had lost its tax exemption status.

In his presentation, Audit and Compliance committee member Cannover Watson said the CONCACAF is negotiating with the US tax authorities to have the status restored.

The revenue for the period under review was put at US$21 million.

For 2013 through to 2015, CONCACAF projects that it will spend US$138 million, with US$50 million in 2013 alone, a Gold Cup year.

“The CONCACAF, while coming from a very difficult past, in my view, has a bright future… and to think that this administration has been in office only 11 months,” Watson said.

While the congress was given a report by a CONCACAF-commissioned Integrity Committee of alleged mismanagement of the confederation body led by former president Austin ‘Jack’ Warner and General Secretary Chuck Blazer, the new Webb-led administration announced exciting new initiatives.

It was announced that CONCACAF will spend a projected US$8 million this year in development, and another US$4 million in win in CONCACAF for CONCACAF.

Additionally, it made presentations on its Club Licensing system, Coaching Education, Grass-roots Programme and the work of the Technical Study Group.

The referees development programme and activity got a big boost as a sport-related company specialising in footwear named Footling has committed US$4 million over four years.

Jamaican Horace Reid, CONCACAF Competitions Director, gave an overview of his office’s activities, which forms part of the over-arching structure of the development programmes of the body that embraces North and Central America and the Caribbean.

He outlined the training and development of 18 match commissioners, 22 general co-ordinators, workshops, reform of structure and formats of tournaments, review of regulations and a confederation Under-15 tournament for boys and girls.