FIFA executive committee role for Sonia Bien-Aime
Wednesday 8 July 2015 20:42, UK
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) has announced that Sonia Bien-Aime, president of the Turks & Caicos Islands FA and a member of the CONCACAF executive committee, has been selected to serve in a voting position on FIFA’s executive committee.
Bien-Aime joins Lydia Nsekera, president of the Burundi FA, to become the second woman ever to serve in a voting position on FIFA’s executive committee, and the first to be elected to a non-female designated seat, following a vote by CONCACAF’s executive committee on July 4 in Vancouver, Canada.
“Sonia has the full confidence of the CONCACAF executive committee and we are delighted for her to represent our confederation on FIFA’s executive committee,” said Alfredo Hawit, acting president of CONCACAF.
“Sonia has demonstrated her significant leadership as a member of the CONCACAF executive committee, and will bring a diverse and fresh perspective to FIFA on how to promote and advance the game around the world.”
Bien-Aime will represent CONCACAF’s Caribbean Zone as a FIFA executive committee member with a full voting rights position.
She joins CONCACAF acting president, Alfredo Hawit, and US Soccer Federation president, Sunil Gulati at the global executive body.
“My selection to the FIFA executive committee with full voting rights is a ground-breaking decision by CONCACAF that demonstrates our confederation’s commitment to be forward-thinking and our ability to make bold, yet reasoned, decisions,” said Bien-Aime.
“My goal is to represent the best interest of the confederation, while contributing to the objectives of FIFA as we all take collective strides to develop and grow the game that we love."
Bien-Aime is one of three women on FIFA's executive committee, having been co-opted to the top table of world football at the 63rd FIFA congress in Mauritius in 2013.
Since then, her mandate has been extended on two occasions. Her work on the FIFA executive committee has focused primarily on developing women's football internationally.
She currently serves as deputy chairwomen of the organising committee for the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup and is also a member of the organising committee for the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup, and the committee for Women's Football and the FIFA Women's World Cup.
A former athlete, Bien-Aime was the captain of the Turks & Caicos Islands Women’s National Football Team.
In 2006, she was appointed to the position of General Secretary of TCIFA, and became the first woman elected to an executive post in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in 2012.
