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CONCACAF dismisses Webb, Li, as Sanz put on leave

Embattled FIFA executive committee members Jeffrey Webb and Eduardo Li were "provisionally dismissed" Thursday by CONCACAF, football's governing body for North America, in the wake of corruption charges filed by US authorities. The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Football Association (CONCACAF) dropped Webb, its president and president of the Cayman Islands football association, and Li, an executive committee member and Costa Rica's football federation president, after they were among FIFA officials charged with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies on Wednesday. CONCACAF's general secretary, Colombian-American sports executive Enrique Sanz, was also placed on an immediate leave of absence. He is a vice president at Traffic Sports USA, whose president, Aaron Davidson, was among the sports marketing executives charged in the scandal. CONCACAF also named executive committee vice president Alfredo Hawit, head of the Honduras football federation, to take over Webb's duties as president. Sanz's duties were assumed by his deputy, Ted Howard, who had served in the role before in 2012, when he replaced Chuck Blazer, who pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, racketeering and money laundering in connection with the probe. CONCACAF's executive committee named US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati, his Mexican counterpart Justino Compean and Canadian Soccer Association president Victor Montagliani to a special committee tasked with "evaluating and sustaining" CONCACAF business operations in the wake of the scandal. In addition to Blazer, a former US representative on FIFA's executive committee, a guilty plea was entered by Jose Hawilla, owner and founder of the Brazil-based Traffic Group sports marketing firm whose US unit is based in Florida. Hawit tried to portray CONCACAF, whose offices were raided by US authorities on Wednesday, as a victim of the corruption rather than as part of the problem. "While we are profoundly disappointed by the allegations made by authorities that again, CONCACAF has been the victim of fraud, we remain committed to CONCACAF's goal to develop, promote and manage the game of soccer," Hawit said. "We have now taken the appropriate steps to maintain our operations and continue to deliver on our commitments to all of our constituents, including our fans, members, as well as commercial and broadcast partners. "We also continue to cooperate with the ongoing investigation by governmental authorities, which have not placed any restrictions on our ongoing activities." CONCACAF's Gold Cup, the biennial tournament between national teams from the region, is set to be played in July in the United States.