Antigua and Barbuda national football team

The Antigua and Barbuda Football Association became affiliated with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) in 1970. The first official FIFA match played by Antigua and Barbuda was away against Trinidad and Tobago in Port-of Spain, Trinidad on 10 November 1972 for a home and away series during 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification. Trinidad and Tobago won the first match 11–1, making this result Antigua and Barbuda's worst loss in team history. The Soca Warriors also won the second leg in St. John's, Antigua 2–1 nine days later.

The Antigua and Barbuda national football team in Bungay, Suffolk, England on May 24th, 2008 after scrimmages against English lower division side Lowestoft Town.

The 1998 Caribbean Cup, hosted by Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, saw Antigua and Barbuda, led by Serbian coach Zoran Vraneš, serve up a surprise as they reached the semi-finals of the competition. In the qualifying round, the Benna Boys had an unbeaten string of matches securing progression to group stages of the finals. Antigua were placed in Group 4, along with Grenada, Guyana and Anguilla. A 2–2 draw to Guyana in the opening game was followed by a 7–0 thrashing of Anguilla – in which The Benna Boys were rampant. All this before a narrow 2–1 victory over Grenada, who finished in second spot on 6 points. Winning two matches and drawing one saw Antigua and Barbuda topped the group with 7 points, sealing their progression to the group stage of the Caribbean Cup Finals.

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Antigua and Barbuda	7	3	2	1	0	11	3	+8
Grenada	6	3	2	0	1	17	4	+13
Guyana	4	3	1	1	1	17	4	+13
Anguilla	0	3	0	0	3	1	35	−34

In the group stage, there were two groups. Antigua and Barbuda were put into Group A with their first match coming against a very talented Trinidad and Tobago team, a match they narrowly lost 3–2. A 2–1 win over Dominica followed, with Derrick Edwards and Winston Roberts grabbing the crucial goals that gave Antigua the platform to carry onto the final tie against Martinique, and a 5–1 hammering of the latter was assured. The performances in the aforementioned three matches saw Antigua and Barbuda get second place in the group and qualify for the knockout phase of the tournament.

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Trinidad and Tobago	9	3	3	0	0	13	3	+10
Antigua and Barbuda	6	3	2	0	1	9	5	+4
Martinique	3	3	1	0	2	7	8	−1
Dominica	0	3	0	0	3	2	15	−13

The Benna Boys' first and only qualification to the knockout round saw them pitted against the heavy favourites of the tournament, Jamaica's Reggae Boys. Antigua and Barbuda did so well to keep their fierce rivals at bay for normal time, until Onandi Lowe struck in the 110th minute of extra time to send Antigua and Barbuda into a 3rd Place Playoff with Haiti who lost to Trinidad & Tobago in the other semi-final. That would produce a magnificent encounter, with Antigua ending up the losing team in a five-goal thriller. Vaughn Christopher and Ranjae Christian bagged the duo of goals for Antigua and Barbuda but it wasn't enough to grab third place and a bronze medal. To this day, placing fourth in this edition of the Caribbean Cup is the highest achievement for the Benna Boys.

Semifinals

29 July 1998

Jamaica	1–0	Antigua and Barbuda
Onandi Lowe  110'

Trinidad and Tobago

29 July 1998

Trinidad and Tobago	4–1	Haiti
Stern John  1', 60' Irasto Knights  15', 42'		Eddy Cesar  85'

Trinidad and Tobago

Third Place Playoff

31 July 1998

Haiti	3–2	Antigua and Barbuda
Jean Bernard Fleurial  72' Jean Robert Menelas  27' Abrahim Mackenzy  71'		Vaughn Christopher  53' Ranjae Christian  58'

Trinidad and Tobago

On 17 December 2005 the Antigua and Barbuda national team played their first and only ever match against a European opponent after the Hungarian Football Federation invited the Benna Boys to play Hungary in an international friendly at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This was the first match coached by former national striker Derrick Edwards. Antigua and Barbuda went down early in the 10th minute when Krisztian Vadocz tricky footwork saw him evade three defenders and fired past goalkeeper Elvis Anthony to make it 1–0. Then in the 32nd minute, the Hungarians doubled the scoreline when Robert Feczesin easily redirected a Daniel Tozser free kick with his head past Anthony, who failed adjust quickly enough. The Hungarians then added a third 10 minutes from time through Istvan Ferenczi, who fired home from just outside the six-yards box.[5]

Kerry Skepple about to score the game-winning goal versus Haiti on 11 November 2011 to advance to the third round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.

Antigua and Barbuda led by Tom Curtis made a historic run to the third round of CONCACAF qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. They received a bye from the first round of CONCACAF qualifiers and were grouped with the U.S. Virgin Islands, Curaçao and Haiti in the second round. Their first match was at home to Curaçao. After conceding the first goal, the Benna Boys came back to win the match 5–2. Next, Antigua and Barbuda played away to the U.S. Virgin Islands and won convincingly 8–1. In their third fixture, Antigua and Barbuda had to play a tricky away match at Curaçao. Tamarley Thomas scored the game-winning goal in the 73rd minute to give Antigua and Barbuda all 3 points. Up next in their fourth fixture of the second round was a home match versus the U.S. Virgin Islands. Antigua and Barbuda wasted little time before scoring the opening goal. In this match, the Benna Boys made history with an emphatic 10–0 win that saw Peter Byers and Tamarley Thomas both scoring hat-tricks. This was the biggest win in Antigua and Barbuda football history. While Antigua and Barbuda easily beat the U.S. Virgin Islands, Curaçao drew away at Haiti. This meant that Haiti needed at least a draw in their next match in Antigua to stay alive in the competition. On 11 November 2011, Antigua and Barbuda played versus Haiti at home. This match proved difficult for the Benna Boys. For large spells of the match Haiti had majority of the possession and almost scored on a number of occasions including hitting the post twice in the first half. In the second half, Haiti was content on settling for a draw knowing that the next match was in Port-au-Prince and would be favoured to win. In the 82nd minute, Antigua and Barbuda opened up the deadlock with a strike from Kerry Skepple. After the goal, Haiti pressed for the equalizer and forced goalkeeper Molvin James to make some terrific saves. Antigua and Barbuda won this match 1–0 and advanced to the third round of CONCACAF qualifying thus eliminating Haiti with a game to spare. In the final match, the Benna Boys lost in the return leg in Haiti 2–1. Winning this group saw Antigua and Barbuda's FIFA World ranking go to 83rd, their highest ever at the time.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Antigua and Barbuda	6	5	0	1	28	5	+23	15		—	1–0	5–2	10–0
Haiti	6	4	1	1	21	6	+15	13		2–1	—	2–2	6–0
Curaçao	6	2	1	3	15	15	0	7		0–3[lower-alpha 1]	2–4	—	6–1
U.S. Virgin Islands	6	0	0	6	2	40	−38	0		1–8	0–7	0–3	—

The Antigua and Barbuda national team in their historic World Cup 2014 qualifying match versus the United States on 12 October 2012 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

In the third round, Antigua and Barbuda were grouped with Jamaica, Guatemala and the United States. The first fixture in his group was an away match to the United States. Most people were expecting a convincing win by the U.S. but Antigua and Barbuda made it a competitive game. After conceding the first two goals from Carlos Bocanegra and Clint Dempsey in the 8th and the 44th minute respectively, Peter Byers scored a goal on a through pass from Mikele Leigertwood to bring the match to 2–1 in the 65th minute. The Benna Boys were somehow trying to equalize but that came to an end in the 72nd minute when Hercules Gomez scored a goal. The match ended in a 3–1 loss but Antigua and Barbuda gained respect for standing toe to toe with a CONCACAF giant. Up next was a home match to Jamaica. It ended in 0–0 draw gaining their first ever point in the third round of World Cup qualifying. Next, was another tough road test versus Guatemala in the pouring rain that saw some areas of field flooded. Surprisingly, Antigua and Barbuda opened the scoring in the 39th minute from Peter Byers and took the lead into half time. In the second half, Carlos Ruiz leveled the match at 1–1 in the 60th minute. It went from bad to worse when they were reduced to 10 men. Molvin James received a second yellow card for time wasting and Ruiz scored another goal to take the lead 3 minutes later. In the 91st minute Dwight Pezzarossi sealed the match 3–1. The return leg against Guatemala in Antigua saw Guatemala win 1–0 on a wonder strike from Carlos Ruiz in the 25th minute. A home match versus the United States was the next on the schedule. The United States opened up the scoring in the 20th minute on a header from Eddie Johnson but then 5 minutes later the Benna Boys leveled the score from Dexter Blackstock from a Peter Byers pass. The match saw both teams have chances to take the lead even though the U.S. had majority of the possession. Unfortunately, Antigua and Barbuda conceded a late goal, again off of an Eddie Johnson header in the 90th minute. The match ended in a 2–1 defeat thus eliminating them from advancing to the next round. The final match of the third round was a 4–1 loss away to Jamaica ending their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
United States	6	4	1	1	11	6	+5	13		—	1–0	3–1	3–1
Jamaica	6	3	1	2	9	6	+3	10		2–1	—	2–1	4–1
Guatemala	6	3	1	2	9	8	+1	10		1–1	2–1	—	3–1
Antigua and Barbuda	6	0	1	5	4	13	−9	1		1–2	0–0	0–1	—

It was announced by the Estonian Football Association on 2 May 2016 that their national team will play Antigua and Barbuda in an international friendly on 22 November. It was the Benna Boys second match ever versus a European opponent. Estonia won the game 1–0.[6]

During March 2018 FIFA International window The Antigua and Barbuda Benna Boys first played Bermuda at home at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and won narrowly 3-2 through Rhys Browne in the first half, capitalizing on a defensive error and Joshua Parker from a header off of a short corner kick and two minutes later Myles Weston dribbling past a defender on the right wing and curling in a shot in the top corner of the goal. A few days later Antigua and Barbuda earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw away to Jamaica at Sabina Park, levelling in the last seconds of match from a header from Peter Byers. On the team's preparation for their departure back to Antigua, assistant coach Derrick Edwards and equipment manager Danny Benjamin were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana, dealing in marijuana, taking steps to export marijuana, and conspiracy at the Norman Manley International Airport. Shocked by this discovery of this crime, it is made to believe that they may have been set up by an unknown person or persons. Initially Edwards was awarded bail but Benjamin was held without bail but after a month both Edwards and Benjamin were placed under house arrest and curfew along with giving up their travel documents.[7] Both men have since been acquitted of the crime on 14 June, citing there was not enough evidence to prove their involvement in the carrying the drugs with the intention of smuggling the drugs out of Jamaica.

After failing to qualify for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup with losses to Saint Lucia and Martinique in September and November 2018 in the CONCACAF Nations League Qualifiers, the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association appointed German born Congolese Michél Dinzey as head coach on 7 March 2019, succeeding Derrick Edwards. In only a couple weeks with the national team and using an all local Antiguan based squad, they were able to defeat a heavily fancied Curacao team 2-1 securing League B.

In Group B, The Benna Boys started their campaign on 6 September 2019 away to Jamaica at the Montego Bay Sports Complex where they were embarrassingly routed 6-0 against a Jamaican squad fielding many of their overseas stars. With Coach Michél Dinzey using these games to give the young local based Antiguan players the needed experience, this match got a bit out of hand. A few days later the Benna Boys hosted Aruba at the ABFA Technical Centre in Paynters and won the match 2-1 with goals from D'Andre Bishop and Tevaughn Harriette in the first and second half respectively, the latter being the game winner after Aruba equalized from a header Terence Groothusen in stoppage time of the first half. This win gave Antigua and Barbuda its first points of League B. After defeating Aruba, the Benna Boys would play Guyana in a home and away series, the Antigua and Barbuda winning with the same scoreline, 2-1 at home with Quinton Griffith and Junior Benjamin both scoring 2 minutes apart in the first half with Emery Welshman pulling one back for Guyana in the second half. In the following match being played in Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda suffered another heavy defeat 5-1. Next, Antigua and Barbuda played Jamaica at home losing 2-0, giving up goals in both the first half and second half respectively. This loss left the team out of contention for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup but will remain in League B in the next edition of the CONCACAF Nations League. Antigua and Barbuda finished their campaign with a come from behind victory 3-2 away versus Aruba. It was announced that Michél Dinzey resigned as the senior men's national coach after the win effective immediately after their international friendly against Guatemala away, where the team suffered another humiliating loss by the scoreline of 8-0 with absolutely no shots on target and 1 shot overall.

Antigua Recreation Ground, the original home venue of the Antigua and Barbuda national football team.

The original home stadium of the Antigua and Barbuda national football team. Located in the heart of the capital, Saint John's, right on Independence Avenue. The maximum capacity that this stadium can hold is roughly 12,000 spectators. Currently the team plays there for international friendlies and sometimes the Caribbean Cup. In 2008, FIFA banned the ABFA from using this stadium for World Cup Qualifiers, citing that it is a safety hazard. The last World Cup Qualifier at the Antigua Recreation Grounds was a 1–0 victory against Aruba on 26 March 2008.

Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, home to the Benna Boys since 2008.

Another home venue for the Benna Boys, which is located in North Sound, a 10–20 minute drive from Saint John's, the capital city. This more modern, state of the art venue holds up to 10,000 people. Since 2008, Sir Vivian Richards Stadium has hosted mainly World Cup Qualifiers, the first match being a 4–3 loss to Cuba on 17 June 2008.

Saint John's

North Sound

Paynters

Location on Antigua

Located in Paynters in Saint George's Parish, this facility was a FIFA Goal Project starting from the year 2000. Even though FIFA gave the funds to the ABFA, the project has seen many controversial delays with the building process and only in 2016 has the technical centre opened and been in use for training purposes. This facility has an artificial surface, floodlights with some seating for spectators.

Antigua and Barbuda Football Association Technical Centre located in Paynters, Saint George's, Antigua and Barbuda.

The current kit of the Antigua and Barbuda national football team are manufactured by British company Admiral on June 2016 in time for the second round of the 2017 Caribbean Cup qualifiers. The first kit is the gold combined with black for mainly the home matches and the red with the black are the away uniforms. Before Admiral, the team kits were from China-based Peak Sportswear. The Benna Boys have worn that brand since 2012, after they qualified to the third round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

Kit Manufacturer	Time Period
Admiral	1995-1999
Virma	2000–2003
Adidas	2006–2011
Peak	2012–2016
Admiral	2016–current

These are some of the kits worn over the years by the Antigua and Barbuda national football team over the years.

1995 Admiral Home Uniform

1998 Admiral Home Uniform

2000 Virma Home Uniform

2006 Adidas Home Uniform

2011 Adidas Home Uniform

2011 Adidas Away Uniform

2012 Peak Home Uniform

2012 Peak Away Uniform

2016 Admiral Home Uniform

2016 Admiral Away Uniform

CFU Caribbean Championship & Caribbean Cup record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	PTS
1978	Fourth Place	5	1	1	3	4	8	3
1979	First Round	2	0	0	2	0	2	0
1981	Did Not Qualify
1983	Fourth Place	7	2	2	3	11	10	8
1985	First Round	2	1	0	1	2	2	3
1988	Runners-up	5	1	4	0	5	4	7
1989	Did Not Qualify
1990
1991
1992	Group Stage	3	0	1	2	2	12	1
1993	Did Not Qualify
1994
1995	Group Stage	3	1	0	2	3	8	3
1996	Withdrew
1997	Group Stage	2	0	0	2	1	5	0
1998	Fourth Place	5	2	0	3	11	9	6
1999	Did Not Qualify
2001
2005
2007
2008	Group Stage	3	0	2	1	3	6	2
2010	Group Stage	3	1	0	2	2	4	3
2012	Group Stage	3	1	0	2	3	3	3
2014	Group Stage	3	0	1	2	2	7	1
2017	Did Not Qualify
Appearances: 13/25	Best: Runners-up	46	10	11	25	49	80	40

***Red border color indicates that Antigua and Barbuda was the host nation.

Key

  Champion   Runners-up   3rd Place   4th Place   Qualified

CONCACAF Nations League record
Year	League	Group	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pos	P/R
2019–20	B	C	6	3	0	3	8	17	3rd / 4
2021–22	B	To be determined
Total	B	--	6	3	0	3	8	17	3rd/4

Key

  Promotion   Safety   Relegation

The following players were called up for the CONCACAF Nations League matches versus Jamaica and Aruba along with an International Friendly versus Guatemala.

Match dates:
15, 18 and 21 November 2019
Opposition:
 Jamaica,  Aruba &  Guatemala

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Molvin James	(1989-05-08) 8 May 1989	43	0	Tryum
20	1GK	Murphy Parker	(1990-08-16) 16 August 1990	2	0	Swetes
23	1GK	Jayden Martin	(2002-11-07) 7 November 2002	2	0	Ottos
19	2DF	Mervyn Hazelwood	(1991-12-06) 6 December 1991	10	1	Villa
3	2DF	Daniel Bowry	(1998-04-29) 29 April 1998	8	1	Cheltenham Town
12	2DF	Shavorn Phillip	(1996-09-09) 9 September 1996	8	0	Liberta
5	2DF	Chad Williams	(1987-05-05) 5 May 1987	2	0	Greenbay
2	2DF	Jomo Andrew	(1993-12-02) 2 December 1993	2	0	Old Road
4	2DF	Jervez Lee	(1992-09-10) 10 September 1992	3	0	Ottos
7	2DF	Kendukar Challenger	(1997-01-24) 24 January 1997	3	0	All Saints United
11	3MF	Quinton Griffith	(1992-02-27) 27 February 1992	61	7	Five Islands
9	3MF	Tevaughn Harriette	(1995-06-26) 26 June 1995	19	6	Parham
18	3MF	D'Andre Bishop	(2002-10-02) 2 October 2002	7	1	Ottos
17	3MF	Leroy Graham	(1999-12-07) 7 December 1999	5	0	Five Islands
15	3MF	Novelle Francis	(1993-03-10) 10 March 1993	6	0	Parham
13	3MF	Ronaldo Flowers	(2003-03-09) 9 March 2003	1	0	Villa
8	4FW	Javorn Stevens	(1998-05-09) 9 May 1998	11	1	Greenbay
10	4FW	Junior Benjamin	(1992-08-13) 13 August 1992	10	3	Ottos
16	4FW	Tyrique Tongue	(2001-03-14) 14 March 2001	6	0	SAP
6	4FW	Carl Osbourne	(1992-12-16) 16 December 1992	4	1	Swetes
14	4FW	D'Jarie Sheppard	(2003-06-28) 28 June 2003	2	0	Willikies

These are the players that were selected for the Antigua and Barbuda national football team in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
DF	Karanja Mack	(1987-08-04) 4 August 1987	48	0	Parham	v.  Guyana, 14 October 2019
DF	Tyrell Rayne	(1994-08-10) 10 August 1994	1	0	Woodbridge	v.  Aruba, 9 September 2019
MF	Juwan Roberts	(1996-04-05) 5 April 1996	6	0	Swetes	v.  Guyana, 14 October 2019
MF	Raheem Deterville	(1999-12-01) 1 December 1999	2	0	Old Road	v.  Guyana, 14 October 2019
MF	Eugene Kirwan	(1993-01-01) 1 January 1993	14	0	Five Islands	v.  Aruba, 9 September 2019
FW	Nathaniel Jarvis	(1991-10-20) 20 October 1991	10	3	Chippenham Town	v.  Guyana, 14 October 2019

Mikele Leigertwood is 1 of only 2 Antigua and Barbuda international football players to ever play in the English Premier League having played on the 2012–13 Reading F.C. team.

In 2004, FIFA made a ruling that a national team can select players that has a connection to the country, either through their parents or grandparents. Antigua and Barbuda took full advantage of this and started selecting professional players that were born in United Kingdom starting in 2008. These players are locally known in Antigua and Barbuda as Benna Brits.

This is the list of the players were born in the diaspora that went on to represent Antigua and Barbuda.

Former Montreal Impact forward Peter Byers has the most appearances for Antigua and Barbuda with 90 caps and is second on the all-time scoring list with 43 goals after former national coach Derrick Edwards.

Players in bold are still active.

Players in bold are still active.

Polish manager Piotr Nowak, who previously managed Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union, was one of the highest profile coach to take charge of the Benna Boys. He was at the helm when the team acheived their highest FIFA ranking at 70 in October 2014.

These are some of the head coaches of the Antigua and Barbuda national football team throughout the years.

Name	Period	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	Notes
Rudi Gutendorf	1976					--
Zoran Vraneš	1998-2000					4th place at the 1998 Caribbean Cup
Walter Gama	2001-2002					--
Rolston Williams	2004					--
Derrick Edwards	2005-2008					--
Willie Donachie	2008	16	8	3	5	--
Rowan Benjamin	2008-2011	11	4	3	4	--
Tom Curtis	2011-2012	21	8	3	10	Semifinal round of the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers
Rolston Williams	2012-2014	6	4	0	2	--
Piotr Nowak	2014-2015	12	5	2	5	Highest FIFA Ranking of 70 under his tenure
Rolston Williams	2015-2018	8	3	0	5	--
Derrick Edwards	2018-2019	6	2	1	3	--
Michél Dinzey	2019-2020	8	4	0	4	--