Netherlands Antilles national football team

Updated on Oct 19, 2023

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Nickname(s) De Antilopen FIFA code ANT Lowest 188 (December 2003) Ground Ergilio Hato Stadium Confederation CONCACAF (North America)		Home stadium Stadion Ergilio Hato Highest 118 (July 1995) Location Netherlands Antilles Founded 1921

Association Nederlands Antilliaanse Voetbal Unie

The Netherlands Antilles national football team (Dutch, "Nederlands-Antilliaans voetbalelftal"; Papiamentu, "Selekshon Antiano di futbòl"), was the national team of the former Netherlands Antilles and was controlled by the Nederlands Antilliaanse Voetbal Unie. The NAVU consisted of Curaçao and Bonaire. Aruba split in 1986 and has its own team.

The Netherlands Antilles team never qualified for the FIFA World Cup. The country managed to come third in the CONCACAF championships of 1963 and 1969; for four days in March 1963 they could have been regarded as unofficial World Champions, beating Mexico 2–1 before losing to Costa Rica 0–1.

History

Under the name Curaçao, the team played its first international game in 1934 (against Suriname, which was then still part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as well) and continued to use the name Curaçao until the qualifications for the World Championships of 1958, although the name of the area had changed from "Territory of Curaçao" to "Netherlands Antilles" in 1948. In order to boost the competence of the team's players, in 1968 an agreement was nearly reached which would allow the Netherlands Antilles to play in the Combined Counties Football League in the lower divisions of the English football pyramid. The move would have seen the team adopting a home ground in the Netherlands as a base and travelling to play English teams as a regular team, albeit one without promotion or relegation prospects. However, the idea was shelved after initial promise due to cost concerns for most amateur teams.

Dissolution of country

The Netherlands Antilles was dissolved as a unified political entity on 10 October 2010, and the five constituent islands took on new constitutional statuses within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, forming 2 new countries (Curaçao and Sint Maarten) and 3 new special municipalities of the Netherlands (namely Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius).

At the time of the dissolution, the team was about to compete in the qualification tournament for the 2010 Caribbean Championship, and finally competed under an obsolete country name. Sint Maarten national football team, as well as Bonaire national football team are already members of CONCACAF, but are not members of FIFA. The Curaçao national football team took the place of the Netherlands Antilles as a FIFA member.

World Cup record

1950 to 1958 - Did not enter

1962 to 2010 - Did not qualify

CONCACAF Championship record

1963 - 3rd place

1965 - 5th place

1967 - Did not qualify

1969 - 3rd place

1971 - Withdrew

1973 - 6th place

1977 to 1989 - Did not qualify

Gold Cup record

1991 - Did not enter

1993 - Withdrew

1996 to 2000 - Did not qualify

2002 - Did not enter

2003 - Did not qualify

2005 - Withdrew

2007 to 2011 - Did not qualify

Caribbean Cup record

1989 - Fourth place

1990 - Did not qualify

1991 - Did not enter

1992 - Did not qualify

1993 - Withdrew

1994 - Did not enter

1995 to 1997 - Did not qualify

1998 - Group stage

1999 - Did not qualify

2001 - Did not enter

2005 - Withdrew

2007 to 2010 - Did not enter

Pan American Games record

1951 - Did not compete

1955 - Bronze Medal

1959 to 2003 - Did not compete

All-time record against other nations

As of 31 May 2012

Honours

This is a list of honours for the senior Netherlands Antilles national team

CONCACAF Championship / Gold Cup:

Third place (2): 1963, 1969

CFU Caribbean Cup:

Fourth place (1): 1989

Other tournaments

Central American and Caribbean Games:

Winners (2): 1950, 1962

Phillip Seaga Cup :

Winners (1): 1963

Inter Expo Cup / Chippie Polar Cup:

Winners (1): 2004

Runners-up (2): 2006, 2008

Fourth place (1): 2005

Parbo Bier Cup: