The Guyana national football team represents Guyana in men's international football, which is governed by the Guyana Football Federation founded in 1902. It has been an affiliate member of FIFA since 1968, and although it is a country geographically located in South America, it has been an affiliate member of CONCACAF since 1961 (as British Guiana until its independence in 1966). Regionally, it is an affiliate member of CFU in the Caribbean Zone.
Guyana has never participated in the FIFA World Cup, but has qualified once for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2019, and has also participated once in League A and three times in League B of the CONCACAF Nations League. Regionally, the team finished fourth place in the 1991 Caribbean Cup.
History British Guiana (1905–1966) Guyana (then British Guiana) played its first international football match on 21 July 1905, a 4–1 defeat against neighboring British colony Trinidad and Tobago. Its next match was almost 16 years later, on 28 January 1921, a 2–1 away victory against Suriname. The two teams met again in Suriname on 27 August 1923, in the Martinez Shield, and this time the home side won 2–1. British Guiana regularly participated in the Martinez Shield between 1923 and 1933, winning the tournament in 1929, 1931, and 1932.
It played two more matches against Trinidad and Tobago in Suriname in 1937, both resulting in defeats: 3–0 and 3–2. In 1944, British Guiana participated in a triangular tournament in Trinidad and Tobago, facing its national team and Barbados. It won two matches against Barbados (1–0 and 3–0) before drawing 1–1 and losing 3–0 to Trinidad and Tobago. In the final of this triangular tournament, it again lost 3–0 to Trinidad and Tobago.
In November 1947 British Guiana played in a Standard Life tournament in Trinidad and Tobago. They beat the hosts 2–1 in their opening game on 5 November before beating Jamaica 2–0 the very next day. On 10 November they drew 0–0 with Jamaica before losing 2–0 to Trinidad and Tobago in the last game on 14 November.
British Guiana played its first home games in 1950 against Trinidad and Tobago: these were British Guiana's first matches since the Standard Life tournament. British Guiana lost 1–0 and 4–1 before winning 1–0. The last match played under the name British Guiana was the 1–1 draw against Barbados in January 1966.
1966–2006 After gaining independence in 1966, Guyana played its first official competitive matches during the qualifiers for the 1971 CONCACAF Championship against Suriname. The first match, away, was lost 4–1 and the home match on 21 September 1971 was lost 3–2 as Suriname advanced 7–3 on aggregate. In 1976 Guyana entered its first ever World Cup qualification campaign with the aim of reaching the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina. Guyana and Suriname were drawn in a two-legged preliminary in the Caribbean section of CONCACAF qualification and Guyana won the first leg 2–0 at home on 4 July 1976. The second leg in Paramaribo was lost 3–0 which allowed Suriname to advance.
Guyana participated in its first Caribbean Cup finals in 1991, where it finished in 4th place. But the 2000s got off to a bad start with a FIFA suspension which prevented him from participating in the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup.
Guyana had a remarkable calendar year in 2006, with eleven successive wins, including five CONCACAF Gold Cup qualifiers. These results boosted Guyana's spot in the FIFA World Rankings by 87 spots in little over a year. As a consequence, the team rose to the top 12 in CONCACAF and were in the third rank of seeds in the World Cup qualifying draw.
2006–2019 Caribbean Nations Cup 2007 and 2010 At the 2006–07 Caribbean Nations Cup, Guyana finished top of Group A in Stage One, then top of Group H in Stage Two (which they hosted), and finished 3rd in the Bobby Sookram Group, missing out on a semi-final berth on goal difference alone. Had Guyana reached the semi-finals, they would have qualified for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Having qualified for the final phase of the 2010 Caribbean Cup, held in Martinique, Guyana finished last in Group I with one point from a 1–1 draw with Guadeloupe.
2014 World Cup qualifying With the return of international coach Jamaal Shabazz, Guyana finished top of a group containing Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Bermuda to reach the third round of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. They qualified with one game to go with a 2–1 home win against Trinidad and Tobago on 11 November 2011.
Guyana organised friendly matches in 2012 against Panama (20 May), Colombia (28 May) and Bolivia (15 August) for the first team. In the third round group, they finished last, behind Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador, with one point from their six matches.
Lack of football 2013/14 From November 2012 to October 2014 Guyana did not play a single international fixture. This amongst other factors led to FIFA stepping in and removing the GFF executive at the end of 2014.
2015 and 2016 return of the Golden Jaguars With FIFA stepping into Guyana once again, a FIFA Normalisation Committee was installed to regularise football in Guyana. With this came the search for a National Team Head Coach with Jamaal Shabazz reinstalled initially for one game versus Barbados on February 2, 2015. As Guyana had lost many first team players to retirement since 2012, the squad was a new younger group with major gaps in the goalkeeper and defensive areas.
First CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2019 Having finished 7th in the 2019–2020 CONCACAF Nations League qualifiers, the Guyanese team have earned the right to participate for the first time in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the 2019 edition.
Placed in Group D of the tournament alongside the host country (the United States), Panama and Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana was eliminated in the first round with only one draw (1–1 against Trinidad and Tobago).
2020−present During the qualifying tournaments for the 2022 and 2026 World Cups, Guyana was quickly eliminated (1st round and 2nd round in 2022 and 2026 respectively).
Promoted to League A of the 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League, the Golden Jaguars were immediately relegated. They missed the opportunity to compete in the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, being eliminated in the prelims by Guatemala in two legs (3–2 and 0–2).
Team image Kit sponsorship Kit supplier Period Uhlsport 2002–2004 Adidas 2005–2007 None (In House) 2008–2010 Plus One 2011 Saeta 2012–2015 Admiral 2016 Squadra 2018 Capelli Sport 2019–2023 SQ Apparel 2024 Meyba 2025–present
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 staff
Head coach Marco Bonofiglio Assistant coach John Borsellino Strength & Conditioning Coach Renzo Patel Team Manager Tyrese Stanley Goalkeeping coach Evon Cobaine Kitman Hal Portius Head scout Romild ChristieGFF President Wayne Forde Technical director Gennarius Huxley
Coaching history
Players Current squad The following players were called up for the 2026–27 CONCACAF Nations League matches against Puerto Rico on 24 September, Cayman Islands on 27 September, and Dominica on 1 and 4 October 2026.
Caps and goals updated as of 4 October 2026, after the match against Dominica.
Recent call-ups The following players have been called up within the past year.
INJ Withdrew due to injury. PRE Preliminary squad. RET Retired from the national team. WD Withdrew for personal reasons.
Player records Players in bold are still active with Guyana.
Most appearances
RankPlayerCapsGoalsCareer1Walter Moore7752004–20192Daniel Wilson7012011–20253Earl O'Neal6911971–19804Charles Pollard6031996–20125Anthony Abrams58152004–20176Trayon Bobb51122011–20237Howard Lowe4612002–2010Gregory Richardson46172002–20199Kelsey Benjamin4372017–present 10Dwain Jacobs4212008–2017
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerGoalsCapsRatioCareer1Omari Glasgow26412021–present 2Nigel Codrington18262001–20103Gregory Richardson17462002–20194Osaze De Rosario16162023–present5Anthony Abrams15582004–20176Trayon Bobb12512011–20237Neil Danns11232015–2023Emery Welshman11282015–20239Randolph Jerome9211998–2008Sheldon Holder9342011–2021
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup FIFA World CupFIFA World Cup qualificationYearRoundPosition** 1930 to 1970Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member 1974Did not enterDeclined participation 1978Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 2 3 1982 6 2 0 4 8 13 1986 2 0 1 1 1 2 1990 2 0 0 2 0 5 1994 2 0 1 1 2 3 1998 2 0 0 2 1 8 2002Suspended by FIFASuspended by FIFA 2006 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 1 8 2010 2 0 0 2 1 3 2014 12 4 2 6 14 30 2018 2 0 2 0 6 6 2022 4 1 0 3 4 8 2026 4 2 0 2 6 4 2030To be determinedTo be determined 2034Total 42 10 6 26 46 93
CONCACAF Gold Cup
CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition*Squad* 1963Did not enterDid not enter 1965 1967 1969 1971 1973 1977Did not qualify210123 1981 62048131985 2011121989 200205 19916213915 1993 310237 1996 200207 1998Did not enterDid not enter 2000Did not qualify51221912 2002320143 2003210122 2005WithdrewWithdrew 2007Did not qualify9711287 2009 513175 2011301216 201384041511 2015301204 201763032112 2019Group stage13th301239Squad4301143 2021Did not qualify73131214 20238323917 202583141721TotalGroup stage1/28301239—93371443172169
CONCACAF Nations League CONCACAF Nations League recordLeagueFinalsSeasonDivisionGroupFinalsResult2019–20BC63121210 2021Ineligible2022–23BB6312814 20232023–24BD5500205 20242024–25AA4013513 2025Did not qualify2026–27BA4400162 2027IneligibleTotal——2515376144—Total0 Titles———————
Caribbean Cup CFU Championship & Caribbean Cup record Qualification recordYearRoundPosition 1978Did not qualify200214 1979Did not enterDid not enter 1981 1983Did not qualify412135 1985211011 1988200205 1989Did not enterDid not enter 1990Did not qualify302116 1991Fourth place4th4103414211051 1992Did not qualify311145 1993310237 1994200214 1995200207 1996210133 1997411259 19983111174 1999201124 2001320143 2005WithdrewWithdrew 2007Group stage5th3111456600242 2008Did not qualify513175 2010Group stage8th301216641194 2012Did not qualify6303119 2014301204 201763032112TotalFourth place3/251022692571271529122104
Honours Friendly Martinez Shield (3): 1929, 1931, 1932
See also
Guyana national under-20 football team Guyana national under-17 football team Football in Guyana
References
External links
Guyana – FIFA profile