THE Football Association are spending £35,000 to pick up the tab for the Caribbean Football Union's gala dinner tomorrow as part of England's 2018 World Cup bid, it can be revealed.
The dinner, at the plush Hyatt Regency hotel in Trinidad and Tobago, will be attended by a number of England 2018 figures as part of their efforts to woo FIFA's influential vice-president Jack Warner.
It is a significant sum of cash for England 2018 to shell out but Warner for one believes it will be worth it.
Warner told Press Association Sport: "It is costing the FA about £35,000, but I think that is money well spent as it allows them to speak to all 32 countries from the CFU.
"It also means I will be able to get the collective view of my membership about who they think should host the World Cup when the time comes for me to decide who I should vote for.
"And in light of the harsh economic conditions we are battling in the region the FA has agreed to formally partner with us to host the dinner. It is an offer which I have agreed to."
England 2018's take on the £35,000 payment is that it will allow the CFU to spend the money they save on football projects instead.
David Dein, the former Arsenal and FA vice-chairman, will address the gala dinner in his new role as international president of the 2018 bid team.
The following day, the England 2018 party will go to Longdenville, a small village in central Trinidad where Warner's father once lived, where David Ginola will hold a coaching session at the cricket club.
England 2018 will then head to Guatemala where bid chief executive Andy Anson will make a presentation to FIFA executive committee member Rafael Salguero.
*****
The role of the fourth official in football matches will be brought before the game's rule-makers next week with the Scottish FA calling for him - or her - to be allowed to have direct influence with the referee over decisions on the pitch.
As things stand, the referee is supposed to only referee with his linesmen while the fourth official is concerned with policing the technical area.
SFA chief executive Gordon Smith will raise the issue at the International FA Board in Zurich next week.
Smith told this column: "The fourth official may have a better view than the referee but at the moment they can't influence his decision. We think they should have a little bit more of an input."
*****
The mystery over experienced PR man Andy Maxey's position at Sunderland has finally been solved.
Maxey worked as communications chief under Steve Bruce at Birmingham and then followed him to Wigan where he filled the same role.
There was little surprise when Maxey also came to Sunderland after Bruce had taken over - except that he never joined the communications team.
Sunderland already had the formidable Louise Wanless in place so Maxey's role has been a mystery for months, until last weekend that is when he was mentioned in the club programme as "scouting co-ordinator".
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Spare a thought for Kodjovi Obilale, the Togo goalkeeper shot in the back during the rebel attack at the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.
Obilale, who plays for French club Pontivy, has not been allowed to leave South Africa, where he was airlifted for medical treatment, due to unpaid medical bills of £100,000.
As host nation, Angola were supposed to pick up the bill but have so far ignored all requests.
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A shake-up at UEFA has seen Alexandre Fourtoy shuffled across from new media operations to take over the vacant director of communications role.
Fourtoy is expected to have a hands off role with Englishman Rob Faulkner, UEFA's head of media, remaining the main man in terms of dealing with the press.
Meanwhile, Philippe Le Floc'h, the man who has done the television rights deals for UEFA for the last 10 years, is leaving - apparently unhappy about his position in UEFA's new in-house commercial arm which is headed by David Taylor, the former Scottish FA chief.
It is a significant sum of cash for England 2018 to shell out but Warner for one believes it will be worth it.
Warner told Press Association Sport: "It is costing the FA about £35,000, but I think that is money well spent as it allows them to speak to all 32 countries from the CFU.
"It also means I will be able to get the collective view of my membership about who they think should host the World Cup when the time comes for me to decide who I should vote for.
"And in light of the harsh economic conditions we are battling in the region the FA has agreed to formally partner with us to host the dinner. It is an offer which I have agreed to."
England 2018's take on the £35,000 payment is that it will allow the CFU to spend the money they save on football projects instead.
David Dein, the former Arsenal and FA vice-chairman, will address the gala dinner in his new role as international president of the 2018 bid team.
The following day, the England 2018 party will go to Longdenville, a small village in central Trinidad where Warner's father once lived, where David Ginola will hold a coaching session at the cricket club.
England 2018 will then head to Guatemala where bid chief executive Andy Anson will make a presentation to FIFA executive committee member Rafael Salguero.
*****
The role of the fourth official in football matches will be brought before the game's rule-makers next week with the Scottish FA calling for him - or her - to be allowed to have direct influence with the referee over decisions on the pitch.
As things stand, the referee is supposed to only referee with his linesmen while the fourth official is concerned with policing the technical area.
SFA chief executive Gordon Smith will raise the issue at the International FA Board in Zurich next week.
Smith told this column: "The fourth official may have a better view than the referee but at the moment they can't influence his decision. We think they should have a little bit more of an input."
*****
The mystery over experienced PR man Andy Maxey's position at Sunderland has finally been solved.
Maxey worked as communications chief under Steve Bruce at Birmingham and then followed him to Wigan where he filled the same role.
There was little surprise when Maxey also came to Sunderland after Bruce had taken over - except that he never joined the communications team.
Sunderland already had the formidable Louise Wanless in place so Maxey's role has been a mystery for months, until last weekend that is when he was mentioned in the club programme as "scouting co-ordinator".
*****
Spare a thought for Kodjovi Obilale, the Togo goalkeeper shot in the back during the rebel attack at the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.
Obilale, who plays for French club Pontivy, has not been allowed to leave South Africa, where he was airlifted for medical treatment, due to unpaid medical bills of £100,000.
As host nation, Angola were supposed to pick up the bill but have so far ignored all requests.
*****
A shake-up at UEFA has seen Alexandre Fourtoy shuffled across from new media operations to take over the vacant director of communications role.
Fourtoy is expected to have a hands off role with Englishman Rob Faulkner, UEFA's head of media, remaining the main man in terms of dealing with the press.
Meanwhile, Philippe Le Floc'h, the man who has done the television rights deals for UEFA for the last 10 years, is leaving - apparently unhappy about his position in UEFA's new in-house commercial arm which is headed by David Taylor, the former Scottish FA chief.
Copyright (c) Press Association
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