Belize national football team

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.

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".

History

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. 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.

Team image

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.

Rivalries

The Belizean footballers often say that their rivals is the Guatemalan national team

Stadium

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.

Results and fixtures

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

2024

2025

Coaching staff

Coaching history

Since the creation of the national team in 1995, several coaches have been in charge of managing Belize. From 1995 to 1996, Winston Michael was appointed as Belize's first ever manager. As of January 2012, the Belize national football team has had 11 managers.

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification matches against Costa Rica on 21 and 25 March 2025.

Caps and goals correct as of 25 March 2025, after the match against Costa Rica.

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up within the past 12 months.

Records

As of 19 November 2024

Players in bold are still active with Belize.

Most appearances

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

CONCACAF Gold Cup

CONCACAF Nations League

Copa Centroamericana

The 1995 tournament in El Salvador saw Belize's international debut. They played the hosts in their first-ever international on November 29 in Group A. El Salvador won 3–0 with all goals coming in the second half. On December 1, Belize scored their first-ever international goal as they lost 2–1 to Costa Rica and were eliminated from the tournament. Both other teams advanced to the semi-finals and were defeated there, Costa Rica's conqueror Honduras beat Guatemala in the final.