CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb says the historic merger between his confederation and CONMEBOL in staging the Copa America in the USA in 2016 is in keeping with a broad vision of forming beneficial inter-continental working relationships with football colleagues.

In what is considered a bold move in unifying the age-old Copa America in its centennial year and six CONCACAF nations for a super tournament as a first gesture, both confederations vowed to continue working beyond the 2016 project to grow the game for mutual benefit.

“You know what they say, unity is strength… for us this merger with Copa America is for 2016,” said Webb.

In a joint press conference in Miami last Thursday, Webb and his CONMEBOL counterpart Eugenio Figueredo hinted towards further co-operation beyond the Centennial Cup America, details of which will become available in “due course”.

“We have started work with other confederations as well. We have started co-operation with Africa and recently we have signed an MOU with UEFA.

“I believe in learning, I believe that we must continue to evolve, we must continue to develop, and when we continue to do that, that’s how we will continue to be better and grow,” Webb told the Jamaica Observer.

Webb, who is also a FIFA vice-president, said every understanding of co-operation with any other confederation is built on the consideration of broad-based development of the game in CONCACAF, particularly in the more needy Caribbean and Central America regions.

“At the end of the day, CONCACAF is about football, we think football every day; we are not just about the Gold Cup and the Champions League, we are about grassroots football development as well.

“CONCACAF is prepared to do whatever it takes, form all necessary partnerships in growing our game and co-operation with other confederations is one way we see in achieving that fundamental objective,” said the FIFA Anti-racism and Discrimination chief protagonist.

Just last month, CONCACAF signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for mutual co-operation towards the development of the game.

The agreement is a framework to provide CONCACAF with technical assistance and support, while fostering co-operation and dialogue for the purpose of “building a strong legacy with sporting, social, cultural and educational benefits”.

The MOU with UEFA follows on the heels of a similar one signed between CONCACAF and Confederation of African Football (CAF) in April last year.