Cuban National Football Team Qualifies for 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games

The Cuban national football team officially secured its place in the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo. After competition authorities announced that the Jamaican team had withdrawn. From the qualifying match scheduled between the two sides.

The Lions of the Caribbean thus qualified for the top regional tournament. As the second-ranked team from the Caribbean, as reported by the sports publication Jit.

According to the qualifying order, the Cuban team should have qualified directly. As their qualification for the U-20 World Cup placed them among the top teams in the region. However, the fact that the Dominican Republic was hosting the multi-sport games meant that the direct qualification spot went to them.

However, the Concacaf tournament that qualified them for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile in 2025 had already placed them as seeded teams. Meaning the Cubans bypassed the preliminary round for the Central American and Caribbean Games. Thus, they only awaited their opponent, which would be the winner of the group stage. Also whom they would face in a single match with the advantage of playing at home.

With Jamaica’s withdrawal from the competition, the Cuban footballers secured their place in the upcoming Central American and Caribbean Games in the Dominican Republic.

“We are very happy to return to a multi-sport event. Which is the dream of any athlete or coach. We earned our place, and through our own merits, we have consolidated competitive teams in the region. All of which is the result of a work strategy that is already bearing fruit,” the president of the Cuban Football Association, Oliet Rodríguez Méndez, told Jit.

“We now hope to have a good competition. For which we will prepare and continue along this line of work. In order to maintain these encouraging results, which demonstrate that our football is progressing thanks to the collaborative work of coaches, athletes, and administrators,” Rodríguez emphasized.

The national commissioner also praised the work being done at the grassroots level. Highlighting it as the guarantee of future competitive talent.

“I want to congratulate not only the players and coaches, but all the coaches who, from that level, ensure the continuation of the next generation of footballers. And who hold in their hands the future of today’s successes. While also being responsible for training those who will later join our national teams. This is the breeding ground of Cuban football. They are also an essential part of all the work that is being done,” he concluded.

With information from CNA

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