Founded | 1989 |
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Abolished | 2017 |
Region | Caribbean (CFU) |
Number of teams | 8 (finals) 13 (eligible to enter qualification) |
Last champions | Curaçao (1st title) |
Most successful team(s) | Trinidad and Tobago (8 titles) |
Website | www.caribbeancup.org |
The Caribbean Cup was the championship tournament for national association football teams that are members of the Caribbean Football Union. The first competition, established by Shell and run by former England Cricket fast bowler Fred Rumsey, was contested in 1989 in Barbados. The Caribbean Cup served as a qualification tournament among CFU members for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The Caribbean Cup replaced the CFU Championship competition which was active between 1978 and 1988.
Trinidad and Tobago, eight-time winners, and Jamaica, six-time winners, were the most successful sides, winning a combined 14 of 18 titles. Martinique, Haiti, Cuba and Curaçao also won the tournament.
In 1990 on the day of the final, an insurrection in Trinidad and Tobago, the host nation, by the Jamaat al Muslimeen forced an abandonment of the tournament with only the final and 3rd place play-off game remaining. Also, the tournament was not held in 2000, 2002 and 2003.
The 2017 edition of the tournament was the 19th and final. The tournament was discontinued in favour of participation in the CONCACAF Nations League.[1]