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Cayman Islands national football team facts for kids

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This page is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Cayman Islands women's national football team.
Quick facts for kids
Cayman Islands
Shirt badge/Association crest
Association Cayman Islands
Football Association
Confederation CONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederation CFU (Caribbean)
Head coach Joey Jap Tjong
Captain D'Andre Rowe
Most caps Ian Lindo
Mark Ebanks (23)
Top scorer Lee Ramoon (12)
Home stadium Truman Bodden Sports Complex
FIFA code CAY
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 203 Steady (7 February 2019)
Highest 127 (November 1995)
Lowest 206 (April 2019)
Elo ranking
Current 197 Decrease 3 (3 March 2019)
Highest 155 (1987)
Lowest 199 (March 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)

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.

History

1985–2000

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

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. 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

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

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

2024

2025

Coaching history

  • Brazil Neider dos Santos (1993–1996)
  • England Ken Fogarty (1996–1999)
  • Brazil Márcio Máximo (2000–2001)
  • Brazil Marcos Tinoco (2001–2005)
  • Jamaica Carl Brown (2006–2011)
  • Cayman Islands David Braham (2011–2015)
  • Cuba Chandler González (2015–2018)
  • Cayman Islands Charles McLean (2018)
  • Cuba Chandler González (2018–2019)
  • England Benjamin Pugh (2019–2021)
  • Portugal Cláudio Garcia (2023–2024)
  • Netherlands Joey Jap Tjong (2024-)

Players

Current squad

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.

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 United States Darlington Soccer Academy
1GK Leimar Dinnall (2004-12-17) 17 December 2004 (age 19) 0 0 United States St. Thomas Tommies
2DF Wesley Robinson (1993-09-07) 7 September 1993 (age 31) 18 0 Cayman Islands Elite SC
2DF Jabari Campbell (2000-06-23) 23 June 2000 (age 24) 17 0 Cayman Islands Academy
2DF D'Andre Rowe (2001-01-05) 5 January 2001 (age 23) 15 0 Cayman Islands 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 Cayman Islands Elite
2DF Joshwa Campbell (2006-02-15) 15 February 2006 (age 18) 7 1 United States Darlington Soccer Academy
2DF Jahziah Johnson (2005-02-03) 3 February 2005 (age 19) 4 0 United States Darlington Soccer Academy
2DF Immanuel Duran (2005-04-04) 4 April 2005 (age 19) 3 0 United States University of Mount Olive
2DF Jaydon McField (2004-08-01) 1 August 2004 (age 20) 0 0 United Arab Emirates Dubai City
3MF Matthew Suberan (2000-06-05) 5 June 2000 (age 24) 17 0 Cayman Islands Scholars International
3MF Trey Ebanks (2000-06-05) 5 June 2000 (age 24) 16 0 Romania Gloria Băneasa
3MF Zachary Scott (1998-04-02) 2 April 1998 (age 26) 11 1 England FC Deportivo Galicia
3MF Jordan Bonilla (1997-02-28) 28 February 1997 (age 27) 9 0 Cayman Islands Scholars International
3MF Gabriele Dell′Oglio (2004-03-09) 9 March 2004 (age 20) 4 0 Spain Málaga City
3MF Dimetri Douglas (2000-02-05) 5 February 2000 (age 24) 1 1 Cayman Islands 345 FC
4FW Elijah Seymour (1998-11-05) 5 November 1998 (age 26) 13 2 Northern Ireland Newington
4FW Mason Duval (2001-08-24) 24 August 2001 (age 23) 13 1 United States Asheville City SC
4FW Jacobbi Tugman (2004-10-03) 3 October 2004 (age 20) 5 0 Northern Ireland Newington
4FW Sebastian Martinez (1998-10-25) 25 October 1998 (age 26) 4 0 Cayman Islands 345 FC

Recent call-ups

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 Cayman Islands 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 Cayman Islands East End United v.  Moldova; 26 March 2024
DF Jahiem Campbell (2004-07-14) 14 July 2004 (age 20) 1 0 United States Harford Fighting Owls v.  Saint Kitts and Nevis; 7 September 2024
DF Cameron Smith (2004-01-13) 13 January 2004 (age 20) 0 0 United States 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 Cayman Islands Future v.  Saint Kitts and Nevis; 7 September 2024
MF Casey McLaughlin (1996-04-28) 28 April 1996 (age 28) 4 0 Cayman Islands East End United v.  Saint Kitts and Nevis; 7 September 2024
MF Dominic Owens 0 0 Cayman Islands Academy v.  Saint Kitts and Nevis; 7 September 2024
MF Francisco Murillo (1999-08-26) 26 August 1999 (age 25) 1 0 Cayman Islands 345FC v.  Moldova; 26 March 2024
MF Barry-Dre Tibbetts (2002-06-05) 5 June 2002 (age 22) 6 0 United States Dakota Wesleyan University v.  Aruba; 20 November 2023
FW Gunnar Studenhofft (2002-04-05) 5 April 2002 (age 22) 5 2 United States South Florida Bulls v.  Cuba; 11 June 2024
FW Tyler Beckford (2006-08-10) 10 August 2006 (age 18) 1 0 Cayman Islands Future v.  Cuba; 11 June 2024
FW Anthony Nelson (1997-07-31) 31 July 1997 (age 27) 4 0 Cayman Islands 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

Players in bold are still active with Cayman Islands.

Most appearances

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

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

FIFA World Cup

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
France 1998 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 6
South Korea Japan 2002 2 0 1 1 0 4
Germany 2006 2 0 0 2 1 5
South Africa 2010 2 0 1 1 2 4
Brazil 2014 6 0 1 5 2 15
Russia 2018 2 0 2 0 1 1
Qatar 2022 4 0 1 3 2 18
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined 1 1 0 0 1 0
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total – 0/7 – – – – – – 21 1 6 14 9 53

CONCACAF Gold Cup

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

CONCACAF Nations League

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 Same position United States 2021 Ineligible
2022–23 C D 4 0 2 2 3 11 Same position United States 2023
2023–24 C B 4 1 1 2 6 10 Same position United States 2024
2024–25 C C To be determined 2025
Total — — 14 5 3 6 16 29 — Total 0 Titles — — — — — — —

Caribbean Cup

Caribbean Cup record Caribbean Cup qualification record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Barbados 1989 Did not enter Did not enter
Trinidad and Tobago 1990 Did not qualify 4 1 1 2 6 10
Jamaica 1991 Group stage 2 0 0 2 3 5 2 1 1 0 3 2
Trinidad and Tobago 1992 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 2 11
Jamaica 1993 3 0 0 3 3 13
Trinidad and Tobago 1994 Group stage 3 0 1 2 3 6 3 3 0 0 13 2
Cayman Islands Jamaica 1995 Fourth place 5 2 1 2 7 14 Qualified as hosts
Trinidad and Tobago 1996 Did not qualify 1 0 0 1 0 4
Antigua and Barbuda Saint Kitts and Nevis 1997 Withdrew Withdrew
Trinidad and Tobago Jamaica 1998 Group stage 3 1 0 2 2 5 2 1 1 0 4 2
Trinidad and Tobago 1999 Did not qualify 3 1 0 2 6 9
Trinidad and Tobago 2001 3 0 3 0 4 4
Barbados 2005 3 1 0 2 2 6
Trinidad and Tobago 2007 3 0 0 3 1 12
Jamaica 2008 6 1 2 3 7 13
Martinique 2010 3 1 1 1 5 4
Antigua and Barbuda 2012 Did not enter Did not enter
Jamaica 2014
Martinique 2017
Total 4/19 13 3 2 8 15 30 38 10 9 19 56 92

Head-to-head record

As of 19 November 2024 after match against  Guadeloupe

      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 3 0 0 3 1 14 −13
 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 116 23 21 72 112 291 −179

See also

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