Wikipedia

Cayman Islands national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Cayman Islands women's national football team.

The Cayman Islands national football team is the national team of the Cayman Islands, and is controlled by the Cayman Islands Football Association. It is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. Cayman Islands' home ground is Truman Bodden Stadium in George Town, and their head coach is Joey Jap Tjong. Tjong replaced Cláudio Garcia in February 2024. Garcia had replaced Ben Pugh, who was appointed in 2018, when the Cayman Islands national team had failed to win a single game in over nine years, sinking to 206 in the FIFA World Rankings. Under Pugh, they advanced 13 places in the rankings, winning four out of their six matches during the 2019–20 Nations League season.

Cayman Islands
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationCayman Islands
Football Association
ConfederationCONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederationCFU (Caribbean)
Head coachJoey Jap Tjong[1]
CaptainD'Andre Rowe[1]
Most capsIan Lindo
Mark Ebanks (23)
Top scorerLee Ramoon (12)
Home stadiumTruman Bodden Sports Complex
FIFA codeCAY
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 194 Increase 1 (24 October 2024)[2]
Highest127 (November 1995)
Lowest206 (April 2019)
First international
 Dominica 2–1 Cayman Islands 
(Roseau, Dominica; 3 March 1985)
Biggest win
 Cayman Islands 5–0 British Virgin Islands 
(Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; 2 March 1994)
 Cayman Islands 5–0 Sint Maarten 
(Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; 4 March 1994)
Biggest defeat
 Cayman Islands 0–11 Canada 
(Bradenton, United States; 29 March 2021)

History

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1985–2000

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The Caymanian football team played its first international match on 3 March 1985, against Dominica, in Roseau, as part of the 1985 CFU Championship. They lost that match 2–1 with Lee Ramoon - who would go on to become the team's top scorer - opening the scoring.

They qualified for the 1991 Caribbean Cup, falling in the first round. They returned to the tournament in 1994, suffering the same fate. However, the following year, the Cayman Islands jointly organized with Jamaica the 1995 Caribbean Cup, reaching the semi-finals. It fell to Trinidad and Tobago by a scandalous 2–9. In the match for 3rd place, they were defeated by Cuba 0–3. They would qualify again in 1998 although they failed to get past the group stage. They have not played a Caribbean Cup final phase since then.

The Cayman Islands participated in their first World Cup qualifying tie in the 1998 where they succumbed in the first round at the hands of Cuba, who eliminated them after winning twice 0–1 and 0–5.

2000–2010

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In 2000, given the status of the Cayman Islands as one of the British overseas territories, the national team attempted to use this as a loophole to call up a number of uncapped players possessing British passports but who had no specific links to the islands. Barry McIntosh, a football agent, was called in to scout players for an upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifier against Cuba and ultimately he secured eight players i.e. Wayne Allison (Tranmere Rovers), Ged Brannan (Motherwell), David Barnett (Lincoln City), Martin O'Connor (Birmingham City), Dwayne Plummer (Bristol City), Barry Hayles (Fulham), Neville Roach (Southend United) and Neil Sharpe (Boreham Wood). With the exception of Allison the players all appeared in a 5–0 friendly defeat against D.C. United but before they could appear in any official internationals FIFA stepped in and barred the players from representing the Cayman Islands due to their failure to satisfy the existing rules for national team eligibility.[4] Of the eight players only Hayles went on to play international football, appearing for Jamaica ten times.

In the first round of the 2002 qualifiers, Cayman Islands was once again eliminated by Cuba, winning 4–0 in Havana and drawing 0–0 in George Town. History repeated itself four years later, in the 2006 qualifiers, since the Cubans eliminated the Caymanian team from the World Cup for the third time in a row (1–2 in George Town and 4–0 in Havana).

Things didn't change significantly for the 2010 qualifiers, only this time it was Bermuda that eliminated the Cayman Islands in the first round, 4–2 on aggregate. Regardless, this tie saw the Caymanians earn their first points away from home, earning a 1–1 draw at Hamilton on 3 February 2008, with Allean Grant scoring in the 87th minute.

2010–present

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Qualifying directly into the second round of the 2014 qualifiers, the Cayman Islands were drawn in group A along with their peers from El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and Suriname. They lost 5 games out of 6, rescuing a 1–1 draw on the last day, on 14 November 2011, against the Dominicans. The Caymanian team did not play any match again in the next few years, since declining their participation in the 2012 and 2014 Caribbean Cups. But they returned to the 2018 qualifiers, facing Belize in the first round. The first leg in Belmopan finished 0–0 and the second leg in George Town finished 1–1. The 1–1 aggregate score meant the Cayman Islands were eliminated on the away goal rule. With this unbeaten elimination, Cayman Islands can say that they are one of the few teams in the world that did not qualify for a FIFA World Cup despite not losing a single match.

Results and fixtures

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Main article: Cayman Islands national football team results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

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20 November 2023–24 Nations League Aruba   5–1   Cayman Islands Oranjestad, Aruba
15:00 UTC−4
Report
Stadium: Trinidad Stadium
Referee: Norberto da Silva (Curaçao)

2024

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26 March Friendly Cayman Islands   0–4   Moldova Antalya, Turkey
17:00 UTC+3 Report
Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex
8 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Cayman Islands   1–0   Antigua and Barbuda George Town, Cayman Islands
21:00 UTC−5
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)		 Stadium: Truman Bodden Sports Complex
Attendance: 453
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauzière (Canada)
11 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Cuba   3–0
Awarded[note 1]		   Cayman Islands Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
15:30 UTC−4 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)		 Stadium: Estadio Antonio Maceo
4 September 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League British Virgin Islands   0–1   Cayman Islands George Town, Cayman Islands
15:30 UTC−5 Report
Stadium: Truman Bodden Sports Complex
Referee: Jonathan Leiton (Costa Rica)
7 September 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League Cayman Islands   1–4   Saint Kitts and Nevis George Town, Cayman Islands
(15:30 UTC−5)
Report
Stadium: Truman Bodden Sports Complex
Referee: Jonathan Leiton (Costa Rica)
12 October 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League Cayman Islands   1–0   British Virgin Islands Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
15:30 UTC−4
Report Stadium: Warner Park Sporting Complex
Referee: Ricangel De Leça (Aruba)
15 October 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League Saint Kitts and Nevis   1–1   Cayman Islands Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis
15:30 UTC−4
Report
Stadium: Warner Park Sporting Complex
Referee: Shekiel Jokil (Suriname)

2025

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4 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Bermuda   v   Cayman Islands
--:-- UTC−4
7 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Cayman Islands   v   Honduras George Town, Cayman Islands
--:-- UTC−5 Stadium: Truman Bodden Sports Complex

Coaching history

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Players

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Current squad

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The following players were called up for 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League C matches against British Virgin Islands and Saint Kitts and Nevis on 12 and 15 October 2024.[5]

Caps and goals correct as of 15 October 2024, after the match against   Saint Kitts and Nevis

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Lachlin Lambert (2006-06-14) 14 June 2006 (age 18) 8 0   Darlington Soccer Academy
1GK Leimar Dinnall (2004-12-17) 17 December 2004 (age 19) 0 0   St. Thomas Tommies
2DF Wesley Robinson (1993-09-07) 7 September 1993 (age 31) 18 0   Elite SC
2DF Jabari Campbell (2000-06-23) 23 June 2000 (age 24) 17 0   Academy
2DF D'Andre Rowe (2001-01-05) 5 January 2001 (age 23) 15 0   Scholars International
2DF Cameron Gray (1998-10-22) 22 October 1998 (age 26) 13 1 Unattached
2DF Jah Dain Alexander (1999-12-08) 8 December 1999 (age 24) 9 0   Elite
2DF Joshwa Campbell (2006-02-15) 15 February 2006 (age 18) 7 1   Darlington Soccer Academy
2DF Jahziah Johnson (2005-02-03) 3 February 2005 (age 19) 4 0   Darlington Soccer Academy
2DF Immanuel Duran (2005-04-04) 4 April 2005 (age 19) 3 0   University of Mount Olive
2DF Jaydon McField (2004-08-01) 1 August 2004 (age 20) 0 0   Dubai City
3MF Matthew Suberan (2000-06-05) 5 June 2000 (age 24) 17 0   Scholars International
3MF Trey Ebanks (2000-06-05) 5 June 2000 (age 24) 16 0   Gloria Băneasa
3MF Zachary Scott (1998-04-02) 2 April 1998 (age 26) 11 1   FC Deportivo Galicia
3MF Jordan Bonilla (1997-02-28) 28 February 1997 (age 27) 9 0   Scholars International
3MF Gabriele Dell′Oglio (2004-03-09) 9 March 2004 (age 20) 4 0   Málaga City
3MF Dimetri Douglas (2000-02-05) 5 February 2000 (age 24) 1 1   345 FC
4FW Elijah Seymour (1998-11-05) 5 November 1998 (age 26) 13 2   Newington
4FW Mason Duval (2001-08-24) 24 August 2001 (age 23) 13 1   Asheville City SC
4FW Jacobbi Tugman (2004-10-03) 3 October 2004 (age 20) 5 0   Newington
4FW Sebastian Martinez (1998-10-25) 25 October 1998 (age 26) 4 0   345 FC

Recent call-ups

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Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Ramon Sealy (1991-04-22) 22 April 1991 (age 33) 15 0   Bodden Town v.   Saint Kitts and Nevis; 7 September 2024
GK Deshawn Whittaker (2006-05-31) 31 May 2006 (age 18) 0 0 v.   Cuba; 11 June 2024
GK Johnathan Mclean-Giraud (1997-12-11) 11 December 1997 (age 26) 2 0   East End United v.   Moldova; 26 March 2024
DF Jahiem Campbell (2004-07-14) 14 July 2004 (age 20) 1 0   Harford Fighting Owls v.   Saint Kitts and Nevis; 7 September 2024
DF Cameron Smith (2004-01-13) 13 January 2004 (age 20) 0 0   Trinity University v.   Cuba; 11 June 2024
DF Darius Williams 0 0 v.   Cuba; 11 June 2024
DF Joshewa Frederick-Charlery (1997-01-24) 24 January 1997 (age 27) 21 0 Free agent v.   Aruba; 20 November 2023
MF Alexander Clarke-Ramírez (2001-06-27) 27 June 2001 (age 23) 6 0   Future v.   Saint Kitts and Nevis; 7 September 2024
MF Casey McLaughlin (1996-04-28) 28 April 1996 (age 28) 4 0   East End United v.   Saint Kitts and Nevis; 7 September 2024
MF Dominic Owens 0 0   Academy v.   Saint Kitts and Nevis; 7 September 2024
MF Francisco Murillo (1999-08-26) 26 August 1999 (age 25) 1 0   345FC v.   Moldova; 26 March 2024
MF Barry-Dre Tibbetts (2002-06-05) 5 June 2002 (age 22) 6 0   Dakota Wesleyan University v.   Aruba; 20 November 2023
FW Gunnar Studenhofft (2002-04-05) 5 April 2002 (age 22) 5 2   South Florida Bulls v.   Cuba; 11 June 2024
FW Tyler Beckford (2006-08-10) 10 August 2006 (age 18) 1 0   Future v.   Cuba; 11 June 2024
FW Anthony Nelson (1997-07-31) 31 July 1997 (age 27) 4 0   Sunset v.   Aruba; 20 November 2023
  • INJ = Withdrew due to injury
  • PRE = Preliminary squad
  • TRA = Training player
  • WD = Withdrew (non-injury)
  • RET = Retired

Player records

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As of 20 November 2023[6]
Players in bold are still active with Cayman Islands.

Most appearances

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Rank Player Caps Goals Period
1 Mark Ebanks 23 7 2010–present
Ian Lindo 23 1 2001–2011
3 Theron Wood 22 1 2008–2021
4 Joshewa Frederick-Charlery 21 0 2015–present
5 Garth Anderson 20 2 1999–2008
6 Erickson Brown-Morfy 19 6 1998–2009
7 Jonah Ebanks 18 5 2018–present
8 Lee Ramoon 17 12 1979–2002
9 Phillip Berry 16 1 2000–2008
Wesley Robinson 16 0 2015–present

Top goalscorers

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Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Period
1 Lee Ramoon 12 17 0.71 1979–2002
2 Mark Ebanks 7 23 0.3 2010–present
3 Erickson Brown-Morfy 6 19 0.32 1998–2009
4 Jonah Ebanks 5 18 0.28 2018–present
5 Gary Whittaker 3 12 0.25 1993–2008
Michael Martin 3 13 0.23 2018–2020
7 Gunnar Studenhofft 2 4 0.5 2021–present
Paul Brown 2 4 0.5 2010–2015
Carlos Welcome 2 4 0.5 1994–2004
Marshall Forbes 2 6 0.33 2002–2008
Calvin Jefford 2 7 0.29 2008–2009
Anthony Ramoon 2 11 0.18 1993–2002
Elijah Seymour 2 11 0.18 2019–present
Garth Anderson 2 20 0.1 1999–2008

Competitive record

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FIFA World Cup

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FIFA World Cup Qualification
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1994 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
  1998 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 6
    2002 2 0 1 1 0 4
  2006 2 0 0 2 1 5
  2010 2 0 1 1 2 4
  2014 6 0 1 5 2 15
  2018 2 0 2 0 1 1
  2022 4 0 1 3 2 18
      2026 To be determined 1 1 0 0 1 0
      2030 To be determined
  2034
Total – 0/7 – – – – – – 21 1 6 14 9 53

CONCACAF Gold Cup

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CONCACAF Gold Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
  1991 Did not qualify
    1993
  1996
  1998 Withdrew
  2000 Did not qualify
  2002
    2003
  2005
  2007
  2009
  2011
  2013 Withdrew
    2015
  2017
      2019 Did not qualify
  2021
    2023
Total – 0/17 – – – – – –

CONCACAF Nations League

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CONCACAF Nations League record
League Finals
Season Division Group Pld W D* L GF GA P/R Finals Result Pld W D L GF GA Squad
2019–20 C A 6 4 0 2 7 8     2021 Ineligible
2022–23 C D 4 0 2 2 3 11     2023
2023–24 C B 4 1 1 2 6 10     2024
2024–25 C C To be determined   2025
Total — — 14 5 3 6 16 29 — Total 0 Titles — — — — — — —

Caribbean Cup

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Caribbean Cup record Caribbean Cup qualification record
Year Round Pld W D[1] L GF GA Pld W D[1] L GF GA
  1989 Did not enter Did not enter
  1990 Did not qualify 4 1 1 2 6 10
  1991 Group stage 2 0 0 2 3 5 2 1 1 0 3 2
  1992 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 2 11
  1993 3 0 0 3 3 13
  1994 Group stage 3 0 1 2 3 6 3 3 0 0 13 2
    1995 Fourth place 5 2 1 2 7 14 Qualified as hosts
  1996 Did not qualify 1 0 0 1 0 4
    1997 Withdrew Withdrew
    1998 Group stage 3 1 0 2 2 5 2 1 1 0 4 2
  1999 Did not qualify 3 1 0 2 6 9
  2001 3 0 3 0 4 4
  2005 3 1 0 2 2 6
  2007 3 0 0 3 1 12
  2008 6 1 2 3 7 13
  2010 3 1 1 1 5 4
  2012 Did not enter Did not enter
  2014
  2017
Total 4/19 13 3 2 8 15 30 38 10 9 19 56 92
  1. ^ a b Draws include knockout matches decided via a penalty shoot-out.

Head-to-head record

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As of 15 October 2024 after match against   Saint Kitts and Nevis[7]

  Positive Record   Neutral Recordp   Negative Record

Opponent
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
  Anguilla 1 1 0 0 4 1 +3
  Antigua and Barbuda 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3
  Aruba 4 1 0 3 5 11 -6
  Bahamas 3 2 0 1 9 4 +5
  Barbados 3 1 0 2 4 11 −7
  Belize 2 0 2 0 1 1 0
  Bermuda 9 1 3 5 8 15 −7
  British Virgin Islands 8 5 3 0 14 5 +9
  Canada 1 0 0 1 0 11 −11
  Cuba 15 0 3 12 4 46 −42
  Dominica 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1
  Dominican Republic 5 1 1 3 2 14 −12
  El Salvador 2 0 0 2 1 8 −7
  French Guiana 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
  Grenada 1 0 0 1 2 4 −2
  Guadeloupe 1 0 0 1 1 7 −6
  Guyana 2 0 0 2 3 5 −2
  Haiti 2 0 0 2 2 4 −2
  Jamaica 13 1 1 11 10 40 −30
  Martinique 5 0 2 3 2 13 −11
  Moldova 1 0 0 1 0 4 −4
  Montserrat 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1
  Netherlands Antilles 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2
  Nicaragua 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1
  Puerto Rico 4 0 0 4 1 14 −13
  Saint Kitts and Nevis 3 0 2 2 3 6 –3
  Saint Lucia 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
  Saint Martin 6 2 1 3 8 12 −4
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3 0 2 1 3 7 −4
  Sint Maarten 3 1 1 1 8 5 +3
  Suriname 4 0 0 4 0 7 −7
  Trinidad and Tobago 3 0 0 3 2 19 −17
  Turks and Caicos Islands 2 1 0 1 3 2 +1
  United States 1 0 0 1 1 8 −7
  U.S. Virgin Islands 4 3 1 0 7 3 +4
Total 114 23 21 70 112 284 −172

Notes

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  1. ^ Cuba were awarded a 3–0 victory by forfeit, due to the Cayman Islands team not wanting visa issues to the United States as a result of visiting Cuba.

References

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  1. ^ a b Russell, Seaford (9 June 2024). "Cayman's last-minute goal secures historic World Cup qualifier victory". Cayman Compass. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  2. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  3. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 14 November 2024. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
  4. ^ Footballers whose loved ones have told them who to play for Archived 30 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian, 5 March 2008
  5. ^ @theofficialcifa (12 October 2024). "The squad!" – via Instagram.
  6. ^ "Cayman Islands". National Football Teams.
  7. ^ "World Football Elo Ratings: Cayman Islands". eloratings.net. Elo Ratings. Archived from the original on 13 June 2006. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
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