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Football in the Cayman Islands

Football in the Cayman Islands
CountryCayman Islands
Governing bodyCayman Islands Football Association
National team(s)

Women's national team

National competitions
International competitions

Association football – commonly known as football (or soccer in the United States and Canada) – is a popular sport in Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands Football Association – the territory's football governing body – organizes the Men's and Women's national teams and administers the territory's professional league the Cayman Islands League. As members of Caribbean Football Union[1] teams are eligible for the Caribbean Club Championship and the territory's membership in CONCACAF[2] allows teams to participate in that organizations club and national team competitions. The Cayman Islands are also a member of FIFA and is therefore eligible to play in the World Cup.[3]

History

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Modern football in the Cayman Islands is generally attributed to the efforts of local school teacher, and later principal, Timothy McField in the late 50s and early 1960s. With the help of a road builder named Mike Simmons, the two constructed the islands first competitive pitch, known originally as the Annex, from swamp land near the school in George Town. The field played host to Jamaica the day after it was completed.[4]

The territory's football governing body, the Cayman Islands Football Association, was founded in 1966 and became an associate member of CONCACAF in 1988, gaining full membership in 1990.[5][6] The national team made its CONCACAF debut in the 1991 Caribbean Cup.[7] The territory joined FIFA in 1992[8] and played their first World Cup qualifying match at home against Cuba on 11 November 1996, losing 0–1.[9]

FIFA corruption case

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Main article: 2015 FIFA corruption case

Jeffrey Webb, Former president of CONCACAF, Cayman Islands Football Association (CIFA), and FIFA vice president, was arrested for corruption charges on 27 May 2015 by Swiss police acting at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice on charges of racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.[10] In May 2015, he was banned by FIFA Ethics Committee.[11] After originally pleading not guilty to the charges, he pleaded guilty in November 2015.[12][13]

League system

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Professional football in the Cayman Islands is organized by the national federation and currently consists of two leagues. The Cayman Islands Premier League has been the highest level of football in the territory since it was first organized for the 1970–1971 season[14] with the Cayman Islands Division One comprising the second tier.[15] The system has a hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between the leagues.

Level Leagues/Divisions
1 Cayman Islands Premier League
10 clubs
↓↑ 1-2 clubs
2 Division One
12 clubs

National stadium

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The Truman Bodden Stadium in George Town seats 3,000.

References

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  1. ^ "Cayman Islands". cfufootball.org/. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  2. ^ "Cayman Islands". concacaf.com/. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  3. ^ "CAYMAN ISLANDS FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION". fifa.com/. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  4. ^ "McField left a champ's legacy". Cayman Compass Ltd. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Cayman now full members". Kingston Gleaner in newspaperarchive.com. 21 August 1990.
    "Delegates at Saturday's extraordinary Congress of that organization held at the Mallards Beach Hotel in Ocho Rios, approved the application from the Cayman Islands for full membership in CONCACAF. They were associate members for two years."[dead link‍]
  6. ^ "Cayman Islands". concacaf.com. 7 March 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  7. ^ "1991 CARIBBEAN CUP Group Stage". us.soccerway.com/. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  8. ^ "CAYMAN ISLANDS FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION". fifa.com/. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  9. ^ "CAYMAN ISLANDS VS. CUBA 0 - 1". us.soccerway.com/. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  10. ^ Apuzzo, Matt; Clifford, Stephanie; Rashbaummay, William K. (27 May 2015). "FIFA Inquiry Yields Indictments; U.S. Officials Vow to Pursue More". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  11. ^ "The FIFA Case: Questions, Answers and Updates". The New York Times. 2015-05-28. Retrieved 2016-08-30.
  12. ^ "Fifa corruption: Jeffrey Webb pleads not guilty in US". BBC. 2015-07-19. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  13. ^ "Webb pleads guilty, gives up $6.7M in FIFA probe". The New York Times. 2015-12-03. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  14. ^ "Cayman Islands - List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  15. ^ "Cayman Islands 2020/21". RSSSF. Retrieved 2021-10-08.