Belize national football team
National football team of Belize / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Belize national football team represents Belize in international football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Belize, a member of the Central American Football Union of CONCACAF.
Nickname(s) | The Jaguars The Unbelizeables | ||
---|---|---|---|
Association | Football Federation of Belize (FFB) | ||
Confederation | CONCACAF (North America) | ||
Sub-confederation | UNCAF (Central America) | ||
Head coach | David Pérez Asensio | ||
Captain | Evral Trapp | ||
Most caps | Deon McCaulay (63) | ||
Top scorer | Deon McCaulay (28) | ||
Home stadium | FFB Stadium | ||
FIFA code | BLZ | ||
| |||
FIFA ranking | |||
Current | 182 (15 February 2024)[1] | ||
Highest | 114 (April–June 2016) | ||
Lowest | 201 (November 2007 – January 2008) | ||
First international | |||
British Honduras 1–0 Honduras (British Honduras; 19 February 1928) as Belize El Salvador 3–0 Belize (San Salvador, El Salvador; 29 November 1995) | |||
Biggest win | |||
Belize 7–1 Nicaragua (Belize City, Belize; 17 April 2002) | |||
Biggest defeat | |||
Costa Rica 7–0 Belize (San José, Costa Rica; 17 March 1999) Mexico 7–0 Belize (Monterrey, Mexico; 21 June 2008) | |||
Gold Cup | |||
Appearances | 1 (first in 2013) | ||
Best result | Group stage (2013) |
Although Belize has never qualified for a FIFA World Cup tournament, it has once qualified for a CONCACAF Gold Cup championship in 2013, in which they were eliminated in the group stage. Belize has also competed in the sub-regional Central American Cup championship in which their best result was fourth place in 2013. The nickname for the players of the national team is the "Jaguars".
Overview
Named British Honduras whilst under British colonial rule, the country's first international game came on February 19, 1928, beating Honduras 1–0. Following independence, Belize's first game came on December 8, 1983, in a 2–0 loss against Canada in Belize.[2] Although Belize gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1981 (and many of the UK's current colonies have international teams), Belize did not begin to regularly play international football until 1995. It made its debut at the 1995 UNCAF Nations Cup and was eliminated in the first round after losing to El Salvador and Costa Rica.
Belize has never qualified for the World Cup but finished fourth in the 2013 Copa Centroamericana. Their fourth-place finish in the 2013 Copa Centroamericana gave Belize its first qualification to a major international competition, that being the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
June 2011 suspension by FIFA
On June 15, 2011, Belize kicked off its 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign against minnows Montserrat, winning 2–5 away in a match played in the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, Trinidad. However, the return which was scheduled for June 19 was postponed by FIFA when they suspended the FFB due to governmental interference.[3]
In February 2023 the Football Federation of Belize unveiled a new logo that would represent Belize’s national teams. Created by Rolando Ramirez, the new logo prominently features a Jaguar, the nickname of the team. The FFB hoped that the new image would promote unity and pride in the Belize football community.[4]
FFB Stadium in Belmopan is the home stadium for the Belize national football team. Prior to this stadium, Belize had no facilities that met FIFA specifications. Apart from this Belize has many fields to play on but with no facilities for the players.
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
27 March 2022–23 Nations League | Dominican Republic | 2–0 | Belize | San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic |
18:00 (UTC−4) | Report | Stadium: Estadio Panamericano Referee: Yadel Martínez (Cuba) |
8 September 2023–24 Nations League | Belize | 1–2 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Fort-de-France, Martinique |
16:00 UTC−4 |
|
Report | Stadium: Stade Pierre-Aliker Referee: Oliver Vergara (Panama) |
12 September 2023–24 Nations League | French Guiana | 0–2 | Belize | Remire-Montjoly, French Guiana |
16:30 UTC−3 | Report |
|
Stadium: Stade Municipal Dr. Edmard Lama Referee: Hakeem Harvey (Saint Kitts and Nevis) |
13 October 2023–24 Nations League | Belize | 0–1 | Bermuda | Belmopan, Belize |
20:00 UTC−6 | Report |
|
Stadium: FFB Stadium Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón (Costa Rica) |
17 October 2023–24 Nations League | Bermuda | 1–1 | Belize | Devonshire Parish, Bermuda |
19:30 UTC−3 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Dame Flora Duffy National Sports Centre Referee: David Gómez (Costa Rica) |
17 November 2023–24 Nations League | Belize | 1–0 | French Guiana | Belmopan, Belize |
20:00 UTC−6 |
|
Report | Stadium: FFB Stadium Referee: Jefferson Escobar (Honduras) |
21 November 2023–24 Nations League | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 3–0 | Belize | St. George's, Grenada |
15:00 UTC−4 | Report | Stadium: Kirani James Athletic Stadium Referee: Kimbell Ward (St. Kitts and Nevis) |
2024
21 March Friendly | Belize | 1–1 | Puerto Rico | Belmopan, Belize |
19:30 UTC−6 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: FFB Stadium |
24 March Friendly | Belize | 3–0 | Puerto Rico | Belmopan, Belize |
18:00 UTC−6 | Report | Stadium: FFB Stadium |
2025
4 June 2025 (2025-06-04) 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | Montserrat | v | Belize | |
Report |