Central American Football Union
 Logo of UNCAF | |
| Abbreviation | UNCAF |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1990[1] |
| Type | Sports organization |
Membership | 7 member associations |
| Rafael Tinoco | |
| Website | Official website |
The Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol (Central American Football Union), more commonly known by the acronym UNCAF, represents the national football teams of Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Its member associations are part of CONCACAF.
Overview
The UNCAF organize various competitions, the Central American Cup is played every two years, starting in 1991, and usually feature the seven national teams. Costa Rica is the most successful team, winning the tournament eight times (1991, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, and 2014). Honduras have won the tournament four times (1993, 1995, 2011, and 2017). Guatemala won the tournament in 2001, and Panama won it in 2009. This tournament usually runs as a qualification round for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The UNCAF also ran the Copa Interclubes UNCAF, a competition for the champions and runners-up of the domestic leagues of the UNCAF members; C.D. Motagua (Honduras) was the last champion (2007). Similarly to the Central American Cup, this competition qualified three teams to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. As it expanded into the CONCACAF Champions League in 2008, all of the Central American nations have at least one team and the Copa Interclubes UNCAF was disbanded.
Competitions
National teams
- Copa Centroamericana – Was the International cup for Central America, top 4–5 qualify for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Club teams
- Copa Interclubes UNCAF – Was a club championship for Central America in which the top 3 teams qualified for CONCACAF Champions' Cup.
- UNCAF Women's Interclub Championship – First edition held in 2016.
National teams appearances in international tournaments
| National team | World Cup | Women's World Cup | Gold Cup | Women's Gold Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
5 | 1 | 11 | 2 |
 |
3 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
 |
2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
 |
0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
 |
1 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
 |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 |
0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Title holders
UNCAF runs several competitions which cover men's, women's, youth and futsal.
| Competition | Holders | Current event |
|---|---|---|
| Copa Centroamericana | | 2017 |
| UNCAF U-23 | | 2015 |
| UNCAF U-20 | | 2018 |
| UNCAF U-17 | | 2016 |
| UNCAF U-16 Tournament | | 2018 |
| UNCAF Futsal | | 2016 |
| UNCAF Beach Soccer Central American Cup | | 2018 |
| UNCAF Interclub Cup | | 2007 |
| Copa Centroamericana Women's | | 2014 |
| UNCAF Women's U-20 | | 2017 |
| UNCAF Women's U-17 | | 2017 |
| UNCAF Women's Interclub Championship | | 2017 |
See also
References
- ↑ "Digicel and the Central American Union of Football (UNCAF) launch the Copa de Naciones Digicel 2009". Digicel Football. 11 December 2008. Archived from the original on 8 April 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
External links
- (in Spanish) UNCAF official website