Jack provides the proof of ownership of Centre of Excellence

Jack Warner in Felicity Thursday night

Jack Warner on Thursday night provided what he said was the proof that he is the rightful owner of the Centre of Excellence and that there was no doubt about ownership as claimed in a report by Concacaf. 

The Simmons Integrity Committee report accused Warner of misleading FIFA about the ownership of the land on which the centre was built, stating that the impression was given that the land belonged to Concacaf when it was really owned by Warner.Speaking at a meeting in Felicity, Warner provided the proof to show how he came to own the centre, showing supporters on a large screen scans of letters between himself and the former FIFA president Joao Havelange.

Here's Warner verbatim from the meeting:

"You would remember that prior to 1996 Caribbean football teams were the butt of international ridicule. No one took us seriously. They laughed at us. They humiliated us on and off the field. Our teams were beaten 6-nil, 4-nil and 12-nil by Central American and North American countries. 

"And by 1996 I couldn’t take it anymore. I decided that something had to be done to improve the quality of football in the Caribbean. So I went to Dr Joao Havelange who was the President of FIFA and I asked him for a $6 Million US loan to open a Centre of Excellence in T&T so that I could lift the level of football in the Caribbean and ultimately the CONCACAF. 

"I also decided then that I would use my influence to increase the CONCACAF allocation of slots for the FIFA World Cup from one half of what it was then to three and one half what it is today. 

"Dr Havelange was very sympathetic to me and to my cause. He agreed to provide me with the loan and he so instructed the then FIFA General Secretary Sepp Blatter on or about 1997 to proceed accordingly. 

"By 1997, I had taken the loan and I bought the premises of Metal Box and Lever Brothers through two companies which I formed and I also bought lands from Tricon. 

"But having now bought the land there was nothing I could have done in terms of structure and therefore I went back to Dr Havelange and told him first of all I want the loan to be converted into a grant – a donation – and then I would want his help in terms of getting a structure in place. 

"Dr Havelange’s help to me had not been unusual but I would say more about that later. 
"So on May 4, 1998, Dr Havelange wrote me and told me that he had found an external solution to convert the loan into a donation. I have here the letter from Dr Havelange and you can follow on the screens...

"Ten days later, I wrote Dr Havelange, thanking him for the external solution he had found to assist me with the construction of the Centre of Excellence."

Warner said current FIFA President Sepp Blatter was at that time the "most hated" person by certain groups within the organisation but he was Havelange's chosen successor to Warner used Concacaf's 30 votes to help Blatter win the presidency.

He explained that there never was any ambiguity of uncertainty about who owned the Centre of Excellence. 

"There was no secret in my dealings towards and with Dr Havelange and the Centre of Excellence. 

"So the Centre of Excellence was built, first by a loan that was given to Jack Warner that was converted into a grant and by further assistance from Dr Havelange after whom I named the Centre. 

"The original copies of these letters are supposed to be in the possession of CONCACAF.

"Were these letters disclosed to the CONCACAF Integrity Committee headed by Sir David Simmons? I don’t know.

"Sir David Simmons and his committee in their Integrity Committee report said they based their conclusions on the documents and testimonies that were made available to them. "Therefore, if these documents which are in the possession of CONCACAF were never disclosed to the Simmons committee and to the investigators, would you not agree that the conclusions formed by the committee are incorrect and that the committee has been deliberately misled into maligning Jack Warner? 

"I say tonight that I hold no malice with regard to this matter against Sir David Simmons and his two other committee members because they were deceived if these letters were not disclosed to them."