The Saint Kitts and Nevis national football team is the national team of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and is controlled by the St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association. They are affiliated to the Caribbean Football Union of CONCACAF. The team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup, however, they did qualify for their first CONCACAF Gold Cup appearance in 2023.
They are nicknamed The Sugar Boyz due to the sugar cultivation on the island of St. Kitts.
History
Beginnings (1938–1990) Saint Kitts and Nevis played their first match on 18 August 1938, against Grenada, a match that ended in a 2–4 defeat. They participated in the Leeward Islands Tournament from 1949 however had to wait until 1979 to play their first official matches, in the qualifying rounds for the 1979 CFU Championship, losing twice to Jamaica, both results finishing 2–1. They would again fail to qualify for the final phase of the 1983 CFU Championship after advancing due to Jamaica's withdrawal, eliminated by Martinique, who won 12–0 on aggregate.
1990–2000 The Sugar Boyz qualified for their first tournament at the 1993 Caribbean Cup, drawing against Dominican Republic (2–2) and British Virgin Islands (5–1) to top their qualifying group. In the tournament proper, they finished second behind Jamaica to reach the semi-finals, before losing to Martinique on penalties. In the match for third place, they were defeated 3–2 by Trinidad and Tobago. Saint Kitts and Nevis finished bottom of their group in 1996 but in the 1997 Caribbean Cup, they advanced into the knock-out after finishing level on points with both Trinidad and Tobago and Martinique, then defeated Grenada 2–1 in extra-time with both goals scored by Keith Gumbs, but they succumbed to Trinidad and Tobago 0–4 in the final. Since they'd reached the final, Saint Kitts and Nevis were entered into a play-off against Cuba – runner-up in the 1996 Caribbean Cup – for the last ticket to the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup, but they lost 2–0.
Saint Kitts and Nevis participated for the first time in the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. After benefiting from the withdrawal of the Bahamas, they beat Saint Lucia 5–1 in Basseterre and 1–0 in Castries, but fell in the third knockout round against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, losing thanks to the away goals rule.
2000s In the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, after comfortably beating the Turks and Caicos Islands with an aggregate result of 14–0, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines once again dispatched the Sugar Boyz, winning both in Kingstown (1–0) as in Basseterre (1–2). However, the situation would improve in the 2006 qualifiers, since Saint Kitts and Nevis advanced to the second group phase after leaving the US Virgin Islands and Barbados on the way. They shared Group 3 with Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, but as expected, finished in last place, with 6 losses in as many appearances. They also experienced the worst defeat in their history, 8–0 against Mexico. In the preliminary round for the 2010 qualifiers, they were unable to repeat what they had done four years ago and were unceremoniously eliminated by Belize, who won 4–2 on aggregate.
In the Caribbean Cup, the Sugar Boyz did not repeat the successes of the '90s and could only qualify to the final phase of the 2001 Caribbean Cup, although they did not advance beyond the group phase. They have not returned to a final phase since that edition.
2010–present
Qualifying directly to the second round of the 2014 qualifiers, Saint Kitts and Nevis was drawn in Group D along with Canada, Puerto Rico and Saint Lucia. They finished in 3rd place, with 7 points. It was only defeated by Canada in Toronto (4–0). In the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, Saint Kitts and Nevis defeated the Turks and Caicos Islands in the first round by a lofty aggregate 12–4 before falling in the second phase, at the hands of El Salvador, 6–3 on aggregate, but not before obtaining a 2–2 draw at home. In November 2015, they played 2 friendlies against European teams, Andorra (1–0) and Estonia (0–3). Devaughn Elliott scored the only goal in the victory over Andorra, becoming the first St. Kitts and Nevis player to score against a European side. The result was also the first away victory for a CFU team over a European side on their home soil.
In October 2016, it reached its highest ranking in the FIFA world ranking (73rd place) thanks to its good performance in the 2nd round of the 2017 Caribbean Cup of Nations qualifiers. However, two defeats against French Guiana (0–1) and Haiti at home (0–2 a.e.t.) stopped the Sugar Boyz in the 3rd round of these qualifiers. The year ends with a 1–1 draw in Basseterre against Estonia on November 19, 2016, in a friendly match, one year after playing against the same team in Tallinn.
In June 2017, the team went on a second European tour and played Armenia on June 4 in Yerevan and Georgia three days later in Tbilisi. Both games ended in equally bad losses, 5–0 and 3–0, respectively. St. Kitts and Nevis continued its pattern of international tours and travels in August 2017 to Mumbai to meet Mauritius and India in a friendly tournament, the 2017 Hero Tri-Nation Series. Both matches ended in draws acquired by the same score of one goal each.
The Sugar Boyz played Andorra again on March 25, 2022, six and a half years after their first confrontation, for a friendly match in Andorra la Vella. This time the Principality's selection won against Saint Kitts and Nevis on its home stadium (1–0).
They qualified for their first ever CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2023.
Team image Kit sponsorship Kit supplier Period Beaver 1999 L-Sporto 2004 Adidas 2010–2015 Lika 2016–2019 Capelli 2021–present
National football stadium
StadiumCapacityCityWarner Park Football Stadium3,500Basseterre
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
Coaches
Carlos Cavagnaro (1988) Alistair Edwards (1996–1997) Ces Podd (1999–2000) Clinton Percival (2000–2001) Elvis Browne (2002–2004) Lenny Lake (2004) Leonard Taylor (2008) Lester Morris (2008) Lenny Lake (2008–2010) Clinton Percival (2010–2012) Jeffrey Hazel (2012–2015) Jacques Passy (2015–2019) Earl Jones (2019) Claudio Caimi (2019–2021) Leonardo Neiva (2021) Austin Huggins (2022–2023) Francisco Molina (2023–2025) Marcelo Serrano (2025–)
Players Current squad The following players were called up for the 2026–27 CONCACAF Nations League matches against Bonaire on 25 September, Grenada on 28 September and Cuba on 2 and 5 October 2026.
Caps and goals correct as of 5 October 2026, after the match against Cuba.
Recent call-ups
Player records
Players in bold are still active with Saint Kitts & Nevis.
Most appearances
RankPlayerCapsGoalsCareer1Gerard Williams8522006–20232Julani Archibald8302008–present3Thrizen Leader7612004–20214Yohannes Mitchum5712017–presentRomaine Sawyers5782012–present6George Isaac53221996–20117Orlando Mitchum4962004–20198Jevon Francis47232000–20119Ian Lake46202002–201210Harry Panayiotou45132014–present
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerGoalsCapsRatioCareer1Keith Gumbs24411993–20112Jevon Francis23472000–20113George Isaac22531996–20114Tiquanny Williams20342021–presentIan Lake20462002–20126Harry Panayiotou13452014–present7Austin Huggins11361993–20048Atiba Harris10422003–20199Alexis Saddler9262000–2011Kimaree Rogers9432015–present
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup FIFA World CupQualificationYearRoundPosition* 1930Part of Part of 1934 to 1990Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member 1994Did not enterDeclined participation 1998Did not qualify422083 20024202153 2006104061826 2010201124 2014614168 201842111510 2022630388 20264103513 2030To be determinedTo be determined 2034Total–––––––40158177775
CONCACAF Gold Cup
CONCACAF Gold Cup recordYearRoundPositionSquad 1991Not eligible 1993Did not qualify 1996 1998 2000 2002 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023Group stage16th3003014Squad 2025Did not qualifyTotalGroup stage1/183003014–
CONCACAF Nations League CONCACAF Nations League recordLeagueFinalsSeasonDivisionGroupFinalsResult2019–20BA612388 2021Ineligible2022–23CB431094 20232023–24BA6114412 20242024–25CC4310103 2025Total——208573127—Total0 Titles———————
Caribbean Cup Caribbean Cup recordYearRound* 1989Did not qualify 1990 1991 1992 1993Fourth place5212168 1994Did not qualify 1995 1996Group stage3012310 1997Runners-up420248 1998Did not qualify 1999Group stage300309 2001Group stage311178 2005Did not qualify 2007 2008 2010 2012 2014 2017Total5/181853102643
Honours Regional Caribbean Cup Runners-up (1): 1997
Friendly FIFA Series Third Place (1): 2026
References
External links