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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines national football team facts for kids

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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Vincy Heat
Association Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation (SVGFF)
Confederation CONCACAF (North America)
Sub-confederation CFU (Caribbean)
Head coach Ezra Hendrickson
Captain Cornelius Stewart
Most caps Cornelius Stewart (76)
Top scorer Shandel Samuel (32)
Home stadium Arnos Vale Stadium
FIFA code VIN
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 180 Steady (7 February 2019)
Highest 73 (October 2007)
Lowest 180 (January 2017, December 2018 – February 2019)
Elo ranking
Current 175 Steady (3 March 2019)
Highest 104 (14 January 2007)
Lowest 182 (November 2018)
First international
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1–1 Barbados 
(Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; 12 September 1936)
Biggest win
 Montserrat 0–11 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 
(Woodlands, Montserrat; 7 May 1995)
Biggest defeat
 Mexico 11–0 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 
(Mexico City, Mexico; 6 December 1992)
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Appearances 1 (first in 1996)
Best result Group stage (1996)
Medal record
CFU Championship/Caribbean Cup
Silver 1979 Suriname Team
Silver 1981 Puerto Rico Team
Silver 1995 Cayman Islands and Jamaica Team

The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines national football team is the men's football team that plays for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. FIFA calls them "St Vincent and the Grenadines". The team is managed by the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation.

They are also known as Vincy Heat. In 1995, they finished second in the Caribbean Cup. They also played in the 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The team first tried to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 1994 and has tried for every World Cup since then.

Team History

Early Years: 1936–1995

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines played their first international football matches in 1936. Both games were against their neighbor, Barbados, and both ended in a 1–1 tie. In the 1960s and 1970s, they played in the Windward Islands Tournament. They won this competition in 1965 and 1966.

The team also did well in the CFU Championship. They finished second in 1979, behind Haiti. In 1981, they again came in second, this time to Trinidad and Tobago.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines qualified for the first 1989 Caribbean Cup. They won their qualification group, even beating Sint Maarten 9–0. However, in the main tournament, they finished last in their group. They reached the final stage of the Caribbean Cup again in 1992 and 1993 but did not have much luck.

In late 1992, Vincy Heat played in their first World Cup qualifiers. They won against Saint Lucia and Suriname. This helped them move to the next round. But in that round, they lost all six of their games. One tough loss was an 11–0 defeat by Mexico in Mexico City. This was their biggest loss ever.

Playing in the Gold Cup: 1996

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines made it to the 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup. They qualified by being the runner-up in the 1995 Caribbean Cup. To get there, Vincy Heat had a huge 20–0 win over Montserrat across two games. They then won their group in the Caribbean Cup and beat Cuba 3–2 in the semi-finals. However, Trinidad and Tobago won the final 5–0.

In the 1996 Gold Cup, Vincy Heat did not win any games. They lost 5–0 to Mexico and 3–0 to Guatemala.

Recent Years: 1996–Present

After 1996, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines qualified for the 1996 Caribbean Cup again but finished last in their group. It took eleven years for them to qualify again for the 2007 Caribbean Cup. They got in because they scored more goals, especially after an 8–0 win against Saint Lucia. In that game, Shandel Samuel scored five goals. In the 2007 tournament, Vincy Heat only won one game, beating Guyana 2–0. They finished last in their group again.

In the 1998 World Cup qualifiers, the team beat Puerto Rico and Saint Kitts and Nevis. But in the third round, they lost all six games, including an 11–3 loss to Honduras. For the 2002 qualifiers, they beat the U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Antigua and Barbuda. However, they did not win any games in the semi-finals.

They did better in the 2006 qualifiers. They beat Nicaragua and won two games against Saint Kitts and Nevis. In the 2010 qualifiers, they were knocked out earlier than before by Canada. In the 2014 qualification, they won one game against Grenada. For the 2018 World Cup qualification, they beat Guyana and Aruba to reach the fourth round. In that round, they did not get any points and lost all their games, including a 9–3 loss to Guatemala.

Recent Matches

This section shows some of the team's recent and upcoming matches.

2024 Matches

  • On June 5, 2024, they lost 4–1 to Suriname in a World Cup qualifier.
  • On June 9, 2024, they lost 1–3 to El Salvador in another World Cup qualifier.
  • On September 5, 2024, they tied 1–1 with Bonaire in the Nations League.
  • On September 8, 2024, they won 2–0 against Montserrat in the Nations League.
  • On October 10, 2024, they lost 2–3 to El Salvador in the Nations League.
  • On October 13, 2024, they won 2–1 against El Salvador in the Nations League.
  • On November 14, 2024, they won 2–1 against Montserrat in the Nations League.
  • On November 17, 2024, they won 3–1 against Bonaire in the Nations League.

2025 Matches

  • On March 21, 2025, they tied 1–1 with Jamaica in a Gold Cup qualifier.
  • On March 25, 2025, they lost 3–1 to Jamaica in a Gold Cup qualifier.
  • On May 20, 2025, they won 3–1 against Saint Kitts and Nevis in a friendly match.
  • On May 25, 2025, they won 3–0 against Saint Kitts and Nevis in another friendly match.
  • On May 29, 2025, they tied 1–1 with British Virgin Islands in a friendly match.
  • On June 4, 2025, they won 6–0 against Anguilla in a World Cup qualifier.
  • On June 10, 2025, they lost 2–1 to Puerto Rico in a World Cup qualifier.

Coaching Staff

Position Name
Head coach Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Ezra Hendrickson
Assistant coaches Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Rohan Webster
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Otis Devine

Coaching History

Zoran Vranes interview 2014
Zoran Vraneš was a manager for St. Vincent and the Grenadines starting in 2004.

Many different coaches have led the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines national football team over the years. Some notable coaches include Zoran Vraneš, who managed the team from 2004 to 2007, and Cornelius Huggins, who had two different periods as coach. The current head coach is Ezra Hendrickson.

Players

Current Squad

These players were chosen for a friendly match against Saint Kitts and Nevis on May 20, 2025. Caps (games played) and goals are correct as of March 26, 2025, after the match against Jamaica.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Kenyan Lynch (1985-12-15) 15 December 1985 (age 39) 17 0 Unknown
1GK Garwin Davis (2004-04-07) 7 April 2004 (age 21) 7 0 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines System 3
1GK Samir Bristol 2 0 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines North Leeward Predators

2DF Jamal Yorke (1991-10-09) 9 October 1991 (age 33) 33 0 Antigua and Barbuda Parham
2DF Najima Burgin (1996-10-16) 16 October 1996 (age 28) 22 0 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Jebelle
2DF Nigel Charles (2003-03-20) 20 March 2003 (age 22) 10 0 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Camdonia Chelsea
2DF Dimitri Thomas (2007-03-01) 1 March 2007 (age 18) 2 0 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Jebelle

3MF Nazir McBurnette (1993-02-18) 18 February 1993 (age 32) 58 5 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Hope International
3MF Diel Spring (2000-12-26) 26 December 2000 (age 24) 34 5 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines North Leeward Predators
3MF Kennijha Joseph (2000-08-10) 10 August 2000 (age 24) 23 0 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Layou
3MF Addeen Charles (1996-03-17) 17 March 1996 (age 29) 13 0 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines North Leeward Predators
3MF Kirtney Franklyn (2005-03-05) 5 March 2005 (age 20) 9 0 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines North Leeward Predators
3MF Bishon Richards (2003-06-01) 1 June 2003 (age 22) 7 0 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Hope International
3MF Saviola Blake (2004-04-04) 4 April 2004 (age 21) 4 0 Unknown

4FW Cornelius Stewart (1989-10-07) 7 October 1989 (age 35) 76 25 Indonesia Semen Padang
4FW Azinho Solomon (1994-10-12) 12 October 1994 (age 30) 47 7 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines System 3
4FW Steven Pierre (2005-05-21) 21 May 2005 (age 20) 17 4 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Jebelle
4FW Garret Leigertwood (2000-02-19) 19 February 2000 (age 25) 12 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Avenues United

Player Records

Players in bold are still playing for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Most Games Played

STEWART-WHITECAPS
Cornelius Stewart (right) has played the most games for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, with 76 appearances.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Cornelius Stewart 76 25 2007–present
2 Dorren Hamlet 65 2 2008–2023
3 Shandel Samuel 63 32 2001–2016
Kendall Velox [fr] 63 15 1992–2008
5 Roy Richards 59 1 2008–2016
6 Melvin Andrews [pt] 58 0 1996–2008
Myron Samuel 58 23 2008–2018
Nazir McBurnette [es] 58 5 2011–present
9 Emerald George 52 5 2007–2016
10 Kevin Francis 51 2 2014–present

Top Goal Scorers

Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Shandel Samuel 32 63 0.52 2001–2016
2 Cornelius Stewart 25 76 0.33 2007–present
3 Rodney Jack 24 36 0.67 1992–2004
4 Myron Samuel 23 58 0.4 2008–2018
5 Oalex Anderson 21 48 0.44 2014–present
6 Alwyn Guy 16 39 0.41 1996–2008
7 Kendall Velox [fr] 15 63 0.24 1992–2008
8 Chavel Cunningham [es] 12 28 0.43 2015–present
9 Andre Hinds [fr] 11 11 1 1995–1996
Renson Haynes 11 18 0.61 2001–2006

Tournament Records

FIFA World Cup

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has tried to qualify for the FIFA World Cup many times but has not yet made it to the main tournament.

FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup qualification
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1978 Part of  United Kingdom Part of  United Kingdom
1982 to 1990 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
United States 1994 Did not qualify 10 2 1 7 5 32
France 1998 10 2 2 6 17 33
South Korea Japan 2002 12 5 0 7 24 29
Germany 2006 8 3 1 4 11 15
South Africa 2010 2 0 0 2 1 7
Brazil 2014 6 1 2 3 4 12
Russia 2018 10 1 2 7 15 42
Qatar 2022 4 1 0 3 3 16
Canada Mexico United States 2026 4 1 0 3 9 9
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 To be determined To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total 0/9 66 16 8 42 89 195

CONCACAF Gold Cup

The team has qualified for the CONCACAF Gold Cup once, in 1996.

CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad
El Salvador 1963 Not a CONCACAF member
Guatemala 1965
Honduras 1967
Costa Rica 1969
Trinidad and Tobago 1971
Haiti 1973
Mexico 1977
Honduras 1981
1985
1989 Did not enter
United States 1991
Mexico United States 1993 Did not qualify
United States 1996 Group stage 9th 2 0 0 2 0 8 Squad
United States 1998 Did not qualify
United States 2000
United States 2002
Mexico United States 2003 Did not enter
United States 2005 Did not qualify
United States 2007
United States 2009
United States 2011
United States 2013
Canada United States 2015
United States 2017
Costa Rica Jamaica United States 2019
United States 2021
Canada United States 2023
Canada United States 2025
Total Group stage 1/18 2 0 0 2 0 8

CONCACAF Nations League

The team competes in the CONCACAF Nations League, which is a competition for teams in North, Central America, and the Caribbean.

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 B D 6 3 2 1 6 4 Same position United States 2021 Ineligible
2022–23 B C 6 0 2 4 5 14 Same position United States 2023
2023–24 B C 6 3 0 3 13 14 Same position United States 2024
2024–25 B A 6 4 1 1 12 7 Same position United States 2025
Total 24 10 5 9 36 39 Total 0 Titles

Caribbean Cup

The Caribbean Cup was a football tournament for teams in the Caribbean. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has done well in this competition.

Caribbean Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Barbados 1989 Group stage 6th 2 0 1 1 1 3
Trinidad and Tobago 1990 Abandoned 2 0 0 2 2 5
Jamaica 1991 Did not enter
Trinidad and Tobago 1992 Group stage 8th 3 0 0 3 1 4
Jamaica 1993 Group stage 8th 3 0 0 3 4 10
Trinidad and Tobago 1994 Did not qualify
Cayman Islands Jamaica 1995 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 1 1 13 11
Trinidad and Tobago 1996 Group stage 7th 3 0 1 2 2 7
Antigua and Barbuda Saint Kitts and Nevis 1997 Did not qualify
Jamaica Trinidad and Tobago 1998
Trinidad and Tobago 1999
Trinidad and Tobago 2001
Barbados 2005
Trinidad and Tobago 2007 Group stage 6th 3 1 0 2 2 4
Jamaica 2008 Did not qualify
Martinique 2010
Antigua and Barbuda 2012
Jamaica 2014
Martinique 2017
Total Runners-up 7/19 21 4 3 14 25 44

Awards and Achievements

Regional Awards

  • CFU Championship/Caribbean Cup
    • 2 Runners-up (3 times): 1979, 1981, 1995

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de San Vicente y las Granadinas para niños

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