- Montagliani joined US Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone and MLS Commissioner Don Garber to discuss growth of football in the region at SBJ’s World Congress of Sports
Concacaf President Victor Montagliani was one of the key speakers at the prestigious Sports Business Journal World Congress of Sports, held this week in Los Angeles, California.
The Confederation’s President, who also serves as a FIFA Vice President and Chair of the FIFA Stakeholders Committee, spoke on a panel including U.S. Soccer President and Concacaf Council Member Cindy Parlow Cone and Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber. The discussion, which was attended in-person by hundreds of senior sports and business executives, was moderated by broadcaster and former Canada women’s national team and NWSL player Kaylyn Kyle and focused on the growth and amplification of football in the region during this pivotal period for the development of the sport.
Montagliani provided the audience with insights into Concacaf’s important role in the global football ecosystem as one of FIFA’s six Confederations, and highlighted the transformation of the organization under his leadership, driven by a philosophy to put football first and support Concacaf’s 41 member federations, which span Canada, USA, and Mexico in North America; Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama in Central America; and a further 31 Caribbean territories including the likes of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.
President Montagliani, President Cone and Commissioner Garber provided their expertise on topics ranging from the transformation of Concacaf since 2017, the unprecedented opportunity to develop the game with the run of events taking place in the region over the next two years (Copa America 2024, Concacaf Gold Cup 2025, Leagues Cup and Concacaf Champions Cup and the FIFA World Cup 2026), the significant growth of MLS since its inception in 1996, including the impressive range of football specific stadiums built and the huge impact of Lionel Messi playing in the league for CF Inter Miami, the opportunity to develop a legacy from 2026 that benefits the region and the growth of women’s sports and specifically the women’s game in Concacaf, including the positive momentum from the record six Concacaf teams competing at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup this year, and the need to maintain a focus on supporting the wider region in developing grassroots girls and women’s football in territories that are in the early stages of growing the women’s game.
The three panel members also highlighted the importance of showcasing to the world that the region and its leagues, federations and the confederation are at the epicenter of world football at this moment and in the coming years and have a tremendous opportunity to engage new and existing fans and develop all aspects of the sport.
The CAA World Congress of Sports is the largest and most prestigious sports business conference in North America. The Congress draws hundreds of attendees (in a typical year more than 700), c-suite leaders, league officers; team owners and presidents; corporate sponsors and advertisers; media executives and agency heads. The event addresses the business of sports from the perspective of the industry’s top executives and features speakers and topics that transcend sports.
