The Barbados national football team represents Barbados in men's international football, which is governed by the Barbados Football Association founded in 1910. It has been a member of FIFA and CONCACAF since 1968. Regionally it is a member of CFU in the Caribbean Zone.
Barbados has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup, but has participated twice in League B and twice in League C of the CONCACAF Nations League. Regionally, the team finished as runners-up in the CFU Championship in 1985.
Barbados' debut in international competitions was in the 1978 CFU Championship. Their first appearance in World Cup qualifiers was in the 1977 CONCACAF Championship qualification, which also served as the CONCACAF qualifiers for the 1978 FIFA World Cup. The team achieved its first victory in 1929, defeating Trinidad and Tobago 3–0.
History Beginnings (1929–1980) Barbados played their first international match on April 20, 1929, against Trinidad and Tobago, ending in a 3–0 victory. In the 1930s, they participated in several editions of the Martínez Shield where they suffered their most severe defeat against Guyana (at that time, British Guiana), in Georgetown, in 1931, 9–0.
Barbados had to wait for the qualifying tournament for the 1972 Munich Olympic Games to play its first official competition match against the amateur team of El Salvador, on July 25, 1971, in Bridgetown, a match that saw the Selecta win 0–3. Two years later, Barbados participated in the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games, in Santo Domingo, although it did not qualify past the first round. On August 15, 1976, Barbados defeated Trinidad and Tobago 2–1 (a brace by Victor Clarke) in the 1978 World Cup qualifiers, which doubled as qualification for the 1977 CONCACAF Championship. In the second leg, the Soca Warriors claimed their revenge (1–0) in Port of Spain, taking the tie to a third tiebreaker game, played in Bridgetown, on September 14, 1976, where Trinidad and Tobago won 1–3, eliminating Barbados.
1980–2000 In the '80s, the Bajan Braves obtained 2nd place in the 1985 CFU Championship. The following year they played the 1986 Central American and Caribbean Games, where they reached the quarterfinals, before being eliminated by the hosts, Dominican Republic. At the end of the decade, Barbados hosted the first edition of the Caribbean Cup, without being able to progress beyond the group stage.
In the 90s, Barbados would return to the World Cup qualifiers, in the preliminary tournament for the 1994 World Cup, where it was again eliminated by Trinidad and Tobago (5–1). In the 1998 World Cup qualifiers, after beating Dominica with an aggregate score of 2–0, Barbados was beaten down by Jamaica (0–1 in Bridgetown and 2–0 in Kingston). In the Caribbean Cup, the Bajan Braves qualified for the 1994 competition in an infamous match against Grenada where they purposefully scored an own-goal in order to force overtime and help them to advance, and in the final tournament were eliminated in the first round. Barbados subsequently failed to qualify for the annual competition from 1995 to 1999.
2000s The 21st century started well for Barbados, who eliminated Cuba on penalties (5–4), after two 1–1 draws in Havana and Bridgetown, during the qualifying rounds for the 2002 World Cup. In the second round, they achieved a historic victory at home against Costa Rica (2–1), on July 16, 2000, with goals from Llewellyn Riley and Michael Forde. However, after winning that match, the Barbadians lost the remaining fixtures, wasting their chance to advance to the final hexagonal.
They would return in 2001 to the final phase of the Caribbean Cup, although without much luck after being eliminated again in the first round. In the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, the Saint Kitts and Nevis team eliminated Barbados in the first phase, with an aggregate score of 5–2. In 2005, Barbados hosted (for the second time) the XII edition of the Caribbean Cup, finishing in 4th place. They also qualified for the 2007 and 2008 tournaments, eliminated both times in the group stage. In the preliminary tournament for the 2010 World Cup, Barbados was eliminated by the United States, over two legs, with a crushing aggregate result of 9–0.
2010–present The qualifiers heading to the 2014 World Cup were a real ordeal for the Bajan Braves who were placed into a group with Bermuda, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. They finished last in the group, with 2 goals scored and 14 conceded. After being eliminated in the preliminary phase of the Caribbean Cup in 2012 and after 17 months of inactivity, Barbados returned to play an international match, on March 2, 2014, against Jamaica, in Bridgetown, a match that concluded with victory for the Reggae Boyz, 2–0.
In the qualifying rounds for the 2018 World Cup, they would face the US Virgin Islands where they were surprised 0–1 at home, however, Barbados would overcome the deficit by a 0–4 victory on the road. Then they would face Aruba, winning 0–2 as a visitor, then beating them 1–0 at home however Barbados had fielded an ineligible player, Hadan Holligan, who was due to serve a suspension for collecting two yellow cards, therefore the second leg was awarded to Aruba 3–0, seeing them progress, eliminating Barbados.
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.
2025
2026
Coaching history
Daniel Reid Tom Burke George Braathen Ethan Dallas Jordan Emmett Ryan Kontoh Kevin Millard (1992) Keith Griffith (1994) Edward Smith (1996) Eyre Sealy (1998) Horace Beckles (2000) Sherlock Yarde (2001) Keith Griffith (2002) Allison John (2003) Kenville Layne (2003–2004) Mark Doherty (2005) Eyre Sealy (2007–2008) Keith Griffith (2008) Thomas Jordan (2008–2010) Colin Forde (2011–2014) Marcos Falopa (2014–2015) Colin Harewood (2015–2017) Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed (2017–2019) Russell Latapy (2019–2022) Orlando da Costa (2022–2023) Emmerson Boyce (2023–2024) Kent Hall (2024–Present)
Players
Current squad The following players were called up for the 2025–26 CONCACAF Series matches against Saint Martin and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 26 and 29 March 2026.
Caps and goals correct as of 30 March 2026, after the match against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Recent call-ups The following players have been called up within the past 12 months.
Player records
Players in bold are still active with Barbados.
Most appearances
RankPlayerCapsGoalsCareer1Norman Forde72181998–20112John Parris6142000–20113Gregory Goodridge59161995–20084Hadan Holligan5562015–20245Mario Williams5202015–present6Mario Harte51132008–20197Ricardio Morris5002012–present8Ackeel Applewhaite4312017–presentRaheim Sargeant4332010–201910Jonathan Straker4211998–2011
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerGoalsCapsRatioCareer1Llewellyn Riley22411995–20052Norman Forde18721998–20113Gregory Goodridge16611995–20084Mario Harte13512008–20195Niall Reid-Stephen11202018–presentJeff Williams11362005–20147Jerry Alexander9111995–20008Thierry Gale7142018–presentRiviere Williams7262003–201110Paul Ifill6102004–2008
Competitive record FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup record Qualification record YearRoundSquad1930 to 1966Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member 1970 and 1974Did not participateDid not participate 1978Did not qualify310235 1982Did not participateDid not participate 1986WithdrewWithdrew 1990Did not participateDid not participate 1994Did not qualify200215 1998420223 2002124351727 2006200225 20104112210 20146006214 2018Disqualified after qualifying for third round420264 2022Did not qualify412133 20264013410 2030To be determinedTo be determined 2034Total—0/10—45117274286
CONCACAF Gold Cup CONCACAF Championship / Gold Cup recordYearRoundPldWDLGFGASquad1963 to 1973Did not participate 1977Did not qualify 1981Withdrew1985 to 1991Did not participate 1993Did not qualify 1996 1998 2000 2002 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2025Total—0/17—
CONCACAF Nations League CONCACAF Nations League recordLeague phaseFinal phaseSeasonGroupFinalsRound2019–20CA3rd6402144 2021Ineligible2022–23BA13th610539 20232023–24BB16th6006726 20242024–25CA1st4400174 20252026–27BTo be determined2027Total2290134143—Total—0/4— CONCACAF Nations League historyFirst match 4–0 (5 September 2019; Bridgetown, Barbados)Biggest win 0–5 (9 October 2024; Wildey, Barbados)Biggest defeat 5–0 (11 September 2023; Wildey, Barbados)Best result13th – League B (2022–23)Worst resultRelegation League C (2023–24)
Caribbean Cup CFU Championship / Caribbean Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPldWDLGFGAPldWDLGFGA 1978First round—201101— 1979Did not participateDid not participate 1981Did not qualify202022 1983412123 1985Runners-up2nd303022Qualified as host 1988Did not qualify200219 1989Group stage5th210113Qualified as host 1990 UnfinishedPlay was suspended when Jamaat al Muslimeen attempted a coup d'état of the government of Trinidad and Tobago. The tournament was abandoned altogether after Tropical storm Arthur forced the cancellation of the final round of games. Trinidad and Tobago were to meet Martinique in the final.— 211054321031 1991Did not participateDid not participate 1992Did not qualify311144 1993320192 1994Group stage6th302135 210143 1995Did not qualify421193 1996210122 1997211031 1998310269 1999531194 2001Group stage8th3003210321095 2005Fourth place4th300327Qualified as host 2007Group stage8th3012366420175 2008Group stage8th3003485410116 2010Did not qualify312061 2012320132 201462131213 2017210112TotalRunners-up9/2124281422466331161611377
Honours Subregional CFU Championship Runners-up (1): 1985
Head-to-head record As of 5 October 2026, These all-time records are exclusively class 'A' internationals matches.
Key
Opponent Pld W D L GF GA 2 2 0 0 8 1 9 6 1 2 16 10 8 5 1 2 17 11 3 3 0 0 11 5 2 0 1 1 0 1 18 7 4 7 26 31 2 2 0 0 7 3 1 1 0 0 2 1 3 0 0 3 2 9 3 2 0 1 11 4 2 1 0 1 2 4 8 0 4 4 3 12 2 1 0 1 2 4 15 8 4 3 21 12 5 0 1 4 3 14 1 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 5 28 11 12 5 48 32 8 1 3 4 7 10 3 0 1 2 1 5 42 10 12 20 49 80 4 1 0 3 6 11 23 5 6 12 23 33 14 2 5 7 21 30 3 1 0 2 9 7 5 2 1 2 4 5 3 0 0 3 1 10 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 2 0 2 12 4 2 6 19 21 11 6 2 3 21 11 3 1 0 2 5 4 24 8 9 7 38 33 12 4 5 3 13 10 1 0 0 1 0 4 47 6 11 30 38 125 2 2 0 0 7 0 7 6 0 1 20 1 4 0 0 4 0 20 Total 347 108 87 152 462 586
See also Barbados men's national under-17 football team Football in Barbados Barbados 4–2 Grenada (1994 Caribbean Cup qualification) Sport in Barbados
References
External links
Barbados FIFA profile