Jacques Letang has resigned as the chairman of the normalisation committee appointed by Fifa to restore order to the Fédération Haïtienne de Football (FHF).
Letang, the president of Haiti’s bar federation who has worked for Unicef, was appointed as chairman of the committee at the start of February by Fifa’s ethics committee after former FHF president Yves Jean-Bart was banned from football for life last year after being found guilty of sexually abusing female players.
His role had come under the spotlight after a number of incidents that raised questions about the effectiveness of the normalisation committee in helping to rebuild the FHF, with players union Fifpro questioning the suitability of Letang when he was appointed. Officials from Concacaf, the governing body in the Caribbean, North America and Central America, raised concerns over the suitability of the normalisation committee and its lack of progress so far.
Fifa insisted last month that it had no intention of replacing Letang but it is understood that he informed them of his decision to step down immediately via email on Thursday.
“I accepted this mission in order to participate in a real project to refound Haitian football,” he wrote. “I must note that despite all my efforts, today I have neither the power nor the means to properly fulfil this mission. I must therefore withdraw from this process in which I cannot find myself. I sincerely hope that a new dynamic can be boosted in the service of the protection of the youngest and the promotion of this sport with such unifying potential.”
Fifa has yet to comment.
Letang’s departure comes a week after the FHF announced that it was suspending most of its services until the end of the summer.
