The 1991 Caribbean Cup, known as the Shell Caribbean Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the ninth international association football championship for members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU). It was the third edition of the Caribbean Cup which replaced the CFU Championship. Hosted by Jamaica, the competition ran from 23 May – 2 June 1991 and was contested by the national teams of Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, Martinique, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. For the first time, the competition was used as part of the qualification process for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The final tournament began with the first matches in the group stage on 32 May 1991 and ended with the final on 2 June 1991. Jamaica defeated Trinidad and Tobago 2–0 in the final to win the competition for the first time. Both finalists qualified for the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Background The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) was founded in January 1978 as a sub-confederation of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). Later the same year, the first CFU Championship was organised in Trinidad and Tobago. The competition was held semi-regularly until the final edition in 1988. From 1989, it was replaced by the Caribbean Cup.
The tournament was sponsored by Royal Dutch Shell following the input of employees of Shell Antilles and Gulanas Ltd.
The previous edition was unfinished as a result of the Jamaat al Muslimeen coup attempt and Tropical Storm Arthur so Trinidad and Tobago were the defending champions after winning the inaugural edition in Barbados.
Format A qualifying tournament was held to determine five of the eight teams that would participate in the final tournament. Hosts Jamaica and holders Trinidad and Tobago qualified automatically. Cuba received a bye. The 15 competing teams were drawn into five groups of three teams. Each group was played as a single round-robin where each team would play all of the others once. The winner of each group would qualify for the final tournament.
For the final tournament, the eight teams were drawn into two groups of four teams. Each group was played as a single round-robin where each team would play all of the others once. The winners and runners-up of each group would contest the semi-finals with the winners advancing to the final and the losers contesting the third-place play-off. The two finalists would qualify for the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Participants
Qualifying tournament Group 1 Qualifying group 1, held in the Dominican Republic, was played between 10 and 14 May 1991. The Dominican Republic qualified as group winners on goal difference after defeating Puerto Rico 3–1 in their final match.
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Group 2 Qualifying group 2, held in Martinique, was played between 15 and 19 May 1991. All three teams ended the round-robin with a record of one win and one defeat. Martinique qualified on goal difference.
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Group 3 Cuba received a bye to the final tournament.
Group 4 Qualifying group 4, held in the Saint Kitts and Nevis, was played between 10 and 14 May 1991. The Cayman Islands qualified as group winners after Saint Kitts and Nevis drew with the British Virgin Islands in the final match.
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Group 5 Qualifying group 5, held in Guyana, was played between 8 and 12 May 1991. Guyana qualified as group winners on goal difference after a 1–1 draw with Suriname in their final match.
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Group 6 Qualifying group 4, held in Saint Lucia, was played between 12 and 16 May 1991. Saint Lucia qualified as group winners after defeating Anguilla 6–0 in their final match.
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Final tournament Cuba withdrew from the final tournament.
Group stage Group A In group A, Jamaica advanced to the semi-finals as group winners after winning both their matches. Guyana also advanced as runners-up after defeating the Cayman Islands 2–1 in their final match.
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Group B In group B, Trinidad and Tobago advanced to the semi-finals as group winners. Saint Lucia also advanced as runners-up after defeating Trinidad and Tobago 2–1 in their final match.
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Knockout stage
Semi-finals Group winners Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica both advanced to the final after defeating Guyana and Saint Lucia respectively.
Third-place play-off Goals from Philip Gilbert, Martin Alexander, Victorine Weeks and Earl Jean helped Saint Lucia to a 4–1 win to finish third.
Final Goals from Paul Davis and Winston Anglin helped Jamaica to a 2–0 as they won the competition for the first time.
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