The Antigua and Barbuda national football team represents Antigua and Barbuda in men's international football, which is governed by the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association founded in 1928. It has been a member of FIFA and CONCACAF since 1972. Regionally, it is a member of CFU in the Caribbean Zone.
Antigua and Barbuda has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup, but has participated four times in the League B of the CONCACAF Nations League. Regionally, the team finished as runners-up in the CFU Championship in 1988.
Antigua and Barbuda's debut in international competitions was in the 1973 CONCACAF Championship qualification, which also served as the CONCACAF qualifiers for the 1974 FIFA World Cup. The team achieved its first victory in 1950, defeating Montserrat 2–0 in the Leeward Islands Tournament, which was also the first match in the team's history.
History First official international match On November 10, 1972, Antigua and Barbuda's first official match was in the 1973 CONCACAF Championship qualification, losing to Trinidad and Tobago 11–1 in Port of Spain, which is the worst defeat in the team's history.
Friendlies against European teams On 17 December 2005, the Antigua and Barbuda national team played their first 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. Hungary defeated Antigua and Barbuda 3–0.
On 2 May 2016, the Estonian Football Association announced that their national team would play Antigua and Barbuda in an international friendly on 22 November. It was the team's second match against a European opponent. Estonia won the game 1–0.
2018 drug bust in Jamaica During the March 2018 FIFA Calendar Antigua and Barbuda played Jamaica, drawing 1–1 away at Sabina Park, levelling in the last seconds of match from a header from Peter Byers. Upon 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, dealing in, and taking steps to export marijuana, and conspiracy at the Norman Manley International Airport. Initially, Edwards was awarded bail and Benjamin was held without bail; after a month, both Edwards and Benjamin were placed under house arrest and curfew and gave up their travel documents. Both men were 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 them out of Jamaica.
Team image
Nicknames The official nickname of the Antigua and Barbuda national football team is "the Benna Boys", referring to a genre of Antiguan and Barbudan music similar to calypso. The name was selected in a contest with the fanbase in 2012 after the team advanced to the third round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. "The Benna Boys" beat out other entries in the contest such as "Beach Boys", "Iron Bandits", "Rhythm Warriors" and "Party Crashers". In the past, the national team was unofficially known as "the Wadadli Boys", another name that was in the contest but did not win.
Kit suppliers
The kit of the national team has been manufactured by Spanish-based Joma since March 2021, ahead of the first round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Kit manufacturerTime period Admiral 1995–1999 2000–2003 Adidas 2006–2011 Peak 2012–2016 Admiral 2016–2020 Joma 2021–present
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
2025
2026
Coaching staff
Current coaching staff NamePosition Jacques PassyHead coach Janiel SimonManager Lenny HewlettAssistant coach Schyan JeffersAssistant coach Eduardo SuarezAssistant coach Juan Lecona NavaGoalkeeper coach McClean LawrencePhysiotherapist Danny BenjaminEquipment manager
Manager history
The following is a list of head coaches of the Antigua and Barbuda national team throughout the years.
NamePeriodMatches WinsDrawsLossesNotes Rudi Gutendorf1976 Zoran Vraneš1998–2000Fourth place at the 1998 Caribbean Cup Walter Gama2001–2002 Rolston Williams2004 Derrick Edwards2005–2008 Willie Donachie200816835 Rowan Benjamin2008–201111434 Tom Curtis2011–2012218310Semifinal round of the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers Rolston Williams2012–20146402 Piotr Nowak2014–201512525Highest FIFA Ranking (70) under his tenure Rolston Williams2015–20188305 Derrick Edwards2018–20196213 Michél Dinzey2019–202010406 Mikele Leigertwood 2021–2025256415 Jacques Passy 2025-7214
Players Current squad The following players were called up for the 2025–26 CONCACAF Series matches against Aruba and Guyana on 12 and 18 November 2025.
Caps and goals are correct as of 12 November 2025, after the match against Aruba.
Recent call-ups The following players have also been called up to the Antigua and Barbuda squad within the last twelve months.
Player records
Players in bold are still active with Antigua and Barbuda.
Most appearances
RankPlayerCapsGoalsCareer 1 Quinton Griffith 92 11 2009–present 2 Peter Byers 91 44 2004–2021 3 George Dublin 67 4 2000–2012 4 Tamorley Thomas 64 12 2002–2021 5 Karanja Mack 58 0 2006–2022 6 Ranjae Christian 54 5 1998–20127 Randolph Burton 52 15 2008–2016 Akeem Thomas 52 2 2008–20189 Gayson Gregory 49 8 2000–2014 Molvin James 49 0 2007–2021
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerGoalsCapsRatioCareer 1 Peter Byers 44 91 2004–2021 2 Derrick Edwards 18 22 3 Randolph Burton 15 52 2008–2016 4 Tamorley Thomas 12 64 2002–2021 5 Quinton Griffith 11 92 2009–present 6 Jamie Thomas 10 31 2006–2011 7 Myles Weston 9 16 2014–20238 Garfield Gonsalves 8 29 1992–2008 Kerry Skepple 8 34 2002–2012 Gayson Gregory 8 49 2000–2014
Competitive record FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup record Qualification record YearRoundSquad 1930 to 1970Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member 1974Did not qualify40043221978 and 1982Did not participateDid not participate 1986Did not qualify210125 1990200214 1994411256 1998201146 20026123415 2006210123 2010420278 2014125163218 2018420266 2022421165 2026401315 2030To be determinedTo be determined 2034Total—0/12—501572873103
CONCACAF Gold Cup CONCACAF Championship / Gold Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundSquad 1963 to 1971Part of Part of 1973Did not qualify4 0 0 4 3 221977 and 1981Did not participateDid not participate 1985Did not qualify210125 1989 211014 1991Did not participateDid not participate 1993Did not qualify21 01 1 1 19963 1 2 2 6 11 19982 0 0 2 1 5 2000114252417 20023 0 1 2 4 5 20035 0 1 4 1 8 20053 1 0 2 6 8 20076 2 0 4 8 17 20099 4 3 2 19 16 20116 2 2 2 4 5 20133 1 0 2 3 3 20159 4 2 3 14 11 20176 3 0 3 10 8 20194202108 20216303817 20237304512 20256015215Total—0/20—99331551132198
CONCACAF Nations League CONCACAF Nations League recordLeague phaseFinal phaseSeasonGroupFinalsRound2019−20BC7th6303817 2021Ineligible2022–23BA8th630357 20232023–24BD13th6114922 20242024–25BD15th6015215 20252026–27CTo be determined2027Total2472152461—Total— CONCACAF Nations League historyFirst match 6–0 (6 September 2019; Montego Bay, Jamaica)Biggest win 4–1 (14 October 2023; Nassau, Bahamas)Biggest defeat 6–0 (6 September 2019; Montego Bay, Jamaica) 6–0 (21 November 2023; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)Best result7th – League B (2019–20)Worst resultRelegation League C (2024–25)
Caribbean Cup CFU Championship / Caribbean Cup recordQualification recordYearRound 1978Fourth place4th511348211030 1979Did not qualify200202 1981Did not participateDid not participate 1983Fourth place4th722311104220105 1985Did not qualify210122 1988 Runners-up2nd514054211021 1989Did not qualify430142 1990301225 1991Did not participateDid not participate 1992Group stage7th3012212330080 1993Did not qualify210111 19942101103 1995Group stage7th310238202033 1996WithdrewWithdrew 1997Group stage6th200215—Qualified as hosts 1998Fourth place4th52031193210113 1999Did not qualify301225 2001301245 2005310268 20076204817 2008Group stage7th30213664111610 2010Group stage5th310224312021 2012Group stage8th310233Qualified as hosts 2014Group stage7th3012276411124 2017Did not qualify6303108TotalRunners-up11/22429112247766730142311685
Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games recordYearRoundPos.PldWDLGFGA1930 to 1982Did not participate 1986Quarter-finals5th201112TotalQuarter-finals1/1201112
Head-to-head record The following table shows Antigua and Barbuda's all-time official international record per opponent: Updated to 1 October 2026 after the match against Anguilla Key
Opponent 7 7 0 0 36 3 7 5 1 1 11 5 3 2 1 0 12 3 8 1 1 6 9 16 14 3 5 6 14 18 8 4 2 2 14 10 3 0 1 2 1 4 8 0 1 7 4 19 4 3 0 1 10 6 17 8 5 4 28 20 8 1 2 5 8 21 1 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 2 1 6 3 3 0 13 7 7 2 1 4 4 12 8 1 0 7 3 31 15 5 3 7 17 37 12 2 3 7 11 19 2 0 0 2 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 3 12 1 2 9 5 29 4 1 0 3 6 12 1 0 0 1 0 8 4 3 1 0 20 6 4 1 0 3 5 10 23 9 5 9 30 31 14 5 3 6 23 18 13 7 2 4 17 20 3 2 0 1 7 2 6 1 2 3 4 15 13 2 0 11 12 41 5 5 0 0 26 1 2 0 0 2 2 5 Total 243 85 43 115 350 429
Honours Subregional CFU Championship Runners-up (1): 1988
Friendly Leeward Islands Tournament (2): 1949, 1994
References
External links