New CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani says he expects a lasting legacy in the wake of the Copa America Centenario being hosted in 10 cities across the USA.

The celebratory edition of South America’s most storied football competition, and which is commemorating 100 years, is being staged jointly by the confederations of CONMEBOL and CONCACAF.

CONMEBOL governs football in South America, while CONCACAF oversees the game in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Montagliani, who is only three weeks in the hot seat as CONCACAF boss, told the Jamaica Observer yesterday that more than the obvious income-generation capacity of the mega championship, the accrued legacy will impact his confederation across vital fronts.

“I think the Copa (America) will obviously leave a football legacy, especially if we get good results from our teams.

“In terms of the CONCACAF quality of football, what it means is that obviously it is an opportunity for our CONCACAF countries, especially the ones that don’t experience world-class football on a regular basis in terms of opponents,” he said.

Montagliani, the Canadian Soccer Association president, said the actualisation of the Copa America Centenario lays a solid foundation for future co-operation between CONCACAF and CONMEBOL with the potential for substantial mutual benefit.

“Secondly, I think if we can build on this platform to do future events with our friends at CONMEBOL, that would be an asset to the entire Americas and the Caribbean,” added the Canadian.

Montagliani, who defeated Bermudan Larry Mussenden for president of CONCACAF in an election staged in Mexico City on May 12, says the actual kick-off to the tournament — which was in doubt after indictments of top functionaries in a US-led corruption broad-side — speaks volumes of the will and character of “good people” working to the benefit of the confederation.

“I guess the legacy of the Copa also proves that under extreme circumstances, with respect to what happened around the indictments, that when you have the will and good people you can pull off anything, so my hat is off for all of us who worked hard to bring the Copa here,” noted Montagliani, credited as one of the architects who rescued the novel tournament.

Copa America Centenario, which was first put on the table by former disgraced CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb, is being contested by all 10 CONMEBOL nations, plus six from CONCACAF.

The winner will pocket US$6.5 million, the runners-up get $3 million, third-place $2.5, and fourth $2 million. All losing quarter-finalists will walk away with $1.5 million each.

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz were due to bow into Group C action against Venezuela at Soldier Field in Chicago yesterday. Jamaica, the CONCACAF Gold Cup runners-up and Caribbean champions, will also face Mexico in Pasadena on June 9, before closing out the preliminary phase against Uruguay in Santa Clara four days later.

Meanwhile, the 50-year-old Montagliani disclosed that his job as president so far has been made easier by the overwhelming support he has received from the governing council “from day one”.

“Things are going very well… the support of the council has been excellent from day one… the majority of the council is being a team in dealing with crises, especially in the last year,” he told the Observer.

Apart from the urgency of the Copa America, Montagliani said finding the most suitable candidate for chief executive officer was another pressing matter he had to address head on, even before he took up his chair at CONCACAF headquarters in Miami Beach.

“The Copa was priority number one, but important also was the hiring of a general secretary (Phillipe Moggio). But over the next three weeks, we also need to address the operation issues with respect to putting everything back to normalcy, because really we are not in crisis mode anymore,” Montagliani said.

“After the Copa we will be addressing the review of our entire organisation. As I said in my manifesto, the way we do business, reaching out to all our stakeholders and seeking out and ensuring that those things that can be done in the first year as it relates to the ONE CONCACAF manifesto, can be executed,” he concluded.