Sun. Mar. 27, 2022
The last time Belize football fans and citizens countrywide were in a real celebratory mood for our national male team, the Jaguars, was back in 2013 when we clinched a spot in the Concacaf Gold Cup tournament with a 2-1 victory over Nicaragua to take 4th place in the qualifying Central American tournament being held in Costa Rica. Belize’s national team coach at the time was Costa Rican Leroy Sherrier Lewis, now deceased, who was at the time serving his second stint as our national team coach. Since then, it has been a continuing series of heartbreaks and disappointments, as both our male and female national teams, as well as our national club champions have suffered a string of defeats in different Concacaf qualifying tournaments.

Nevertheless, Belize football fans, a number of them at least, have remained hopeful, perhaps more patriotic than optimistic, whenever the Jaguars are scheduled to play an international match, and some seven hundred plus showed up this evening at the FFB Stadium to cheer on the Jaguars in an international friendly against Cuba, who defeated the Jaguars, 3-0.

FIFA and Concacaf have recently (2018) altered the qualifying format for the World Cup, the Gold Cup, Nations League and Champions League club tournaments, in order to give the weaker teams a chance to play more games for their better development before being eliminated. Thus, rather than playing a first round home-and-away series against a selected opponent, and as usually happens, getting dropped out of the tournament after having played only two matches, the new format places the bulk of weaker teams in groups of five to play a round-robin first round, in which they each get to play at least four matches against four different opponents.

In the most recent Qatar World Cup 2022 Qualifiers, the Concacaf first round involved 6 groups (A, B, C, D, E, and F) of 5 national teams each. Belize was in Group E, where St. Lucia quickly withdrew, leaving Belize, Haiti, Nicaragua, and the Turks & Caicos Islands. The 6 group winners – El Salvador, Canada, Curacao, Panama, Haiti and St. Kitts & Nevis — were then paired off in a draw to play home-and-away knockout series in the second round called the Hexagonal. The 3 victorious teams – El Salvador, Canada and Panama — then advanced to join the 5 highest ranked Concacaf teams, namely Mexico, USA, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Honduras, making it 8 teams in the third round known as the Octagonal.

For the past six months, the Concacaf Octagonal Qualifiers have been a major focus for fans of those 8 national teams who are vying for Concacaf’s 3 guaranteed spots in the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup, with the 4th ranked team then entering a playoff with a team from another regional confederation for one more World Cup berth. But we in Belize are distant spectators. In our first round qualifiers in group E, Belize lost to Haiti (2-0) and to Nicaragua (3-0), and we defeated Turks & Caicos (5-0), to finish in third place in the group; and that was it for Belize’s 2022 World Cup dreams, as only the group winner advances.

For the 8 countries battling in the Octagonal, however, it has been six months of engagement and excitement, hopes and dreams, with the grand prize of a trip to the World Cup hanging in the balance. With 14 matches to be played by each country, 7 at home and 7 away, 14 playing dates were assigned so as not to collide with dates of ongoing individual national competitions. Four (4) games involving all 8 teams were played on each of those dates, which were September 2, 5 and 8; October 7, 10 and 13; November 12 and 16; January 27 and 30; February 2; and March 24, 27 and 30 (that’s to be this coming Wednesday).

With the results from today’s matches, in which Canada dropped Jamaica, 4-0; the USA crushed Panama, 5-1; Costa Rica clipped El Salvador, 2-1; and Mexico edged Honduras, 1-0; the current Concacaf Octagonal standings after 13 playing dates show Canada in the lead and already clinching its World Cup berth with 28 points (+17 goal difference), followed by the USA with 25 pts (+13 gd), Mexico 25 pts (+7 gd), Costa Rica 22 pts (+3 gd), Panama 18 pts (-3 gd), El Salvador 10 pts (-8 gd), Jamaica 8 pts (-11 gd) and Honduras 4 pts (-18 gd). Panama, El Salvador, Jamaica and Honduras are definitely out of the race for the 3 sure spots, but Costa Rica still has a slim mathematical chance.

The final playing date for the Octagonal on Wednesday, March 30, will feature Costa Rica vs USA, Mexico vs El Salvador, Jamaica vs Honduras, and Panama vs Canada. The goal difference being so wide, even a victory by Costa Rica to tie up with 25 pts wouldn’t get them past the USA’s +13 goal difference; but a big win by Costa Rica, along with a big loss by Mexico to El Salvador could see Costa Rica eclipse Mexico’s +7 gd and get through. But the odds are highly against that. However, Costa Rica will still have another chance to gain a World Cup berth via the inter-confederation two-team playoffs.

For our Belizean football fans, all this is a spectacle that we can only dream of one day experiencing. But there is no harm in dreaming, and that should inspire us to achieve. Panama was in our shoes three decades ago, and now they are “punching” with the “big boys”. Until we “arrive,” then, our next best bet is to pick a winner and “ride.” Many Belizeans have been Brazil fans in World Cup games, with citizens of our northern districts having a sentimental favorite in Mexico. Right now, Canada looks the most promising to make our Concacaf region proud at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.

While Belize is out of the World Cup picture for now, our Senior Men’s team, the Jaguars, are still remaining active, as they prepare for our participation in the Concacaf 2022/23 Nations League tournament, the first round of which is this year between May 30 and June 14. The international friendly played today against Cuba was one of a few practice matches against formidable international opponents that Belize is using to try and be ready to give our best at the Nations League, which is both a pathway to the next Concacaf 2023 Gold Cup, as well as a relegation tournament to position teams in the top bracket, League A, for qualification for the next Olympics and 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Meanwhile, our women are also in an uphill battle, our Senior Women’s national team having lost its first two matches in their World Cup 2022 Qualifier group against El Salvador (6-0) and against Panama (8-0), in February of this year. Their remaining games, against Aruba on April 6 in Belize, and against Barbados on April 12 in the Dominican Republic are academic, since there is no chance of Belize winning the group in order to advance in the tournament, but will still serve to position the team in the ranking system with possibilities for promotion.

Belize’s new Minister of Sports, Hon. Rodwell Ferguson, was in El Salvador to witness those two humiliating losses by our Women’s team, and also at the FFB Stadium today, and he has vowed to garner more government support and involvement to see our national teams better prepared to represent our country in the international arena. It is a tall task the minister has committed himself to, as there are systemic issues and attitudes to be analyzed and addressed if we are to lift sports in Belize to the plateau of importance and consequence that will see our teams command the attention and respect we are capable of achieving on the regional and world stage. In football, specifically, the Football Federation of Belize (FFB) has been well funded by FIFA, and has held many training programs and academic exercises for its officials and coaches; but something is still missing, and it will not be found by directing precious time, energy and resources on electioneering personnel strategies at the expense of a commitment to excellence on the field.

Belizean football fans are extremely loyal to their national teams; and they have been very patient. But winning is in our DNA too, and that patience is wearing thin. “Wi taiyad a lose, FFB!”

FIFA rules don’t allow governmental interference in the FFB, although a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the FFB and the National Sports Council. However, if president Sergio cannot effectively express the urgency to take our football to where fans can feel proud again, there may soon be a groundswell cry for Minister Rodwell to have some say in the handling of our national team.