Football in Belize

The sport of association football in the country of Belize is run by the Football Federation of Belize. The association administers the Belize national football team, as well as the Belize Premier Football League. Football is the most popular sport in Belize.

Football in Belize
CountryBelize
Governing bodyFootball Federation of Belize
National team(s)Men's national team
Club competitions
International competitions
CONCACAF Champions League
CONCACAF League
FIFA Club World Cup
CONCACAF Gold Cup (National Team)
CONCACAF Nations League (National Team)
FIFA World Cup (National Team)
CONCACAF Women's Championship (National Team)
FIFA Women's World Cup (National Team)

Origins

Football was played only in the port city of Belize City where, since 1919/20, a regional soccer championship was held each year, dominated by a team called Preston in the first decade. On occasion, teams from other parts of the country also competed in this league. It was only in the 1970s that a country-wide first league called Interdistrict Championship established itself. This resulted in the Belize Premier Football League, which up until the season 2011, which was replaced in 2012 by the still existing Premier League of Belize.

International tournaments

Both the club teams and the national team played only a subordinate role on the international level and have hardly left their mark on international football. The biggest success of the national team was a fourth place at the Copa Centroamericana of 2013, when Belize were able to prevail in the pre-season group against Guatemala (0-0) and Nicaragua (2-1) and advanced to the semi-final. There, the team lost 0-1 to Honduras and then in the game for third place with the same result against El Salvador. Belize was the only one to participate in the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where Belize lost all her games (1: 6 against the USA, 0: 1 against Costa Rica and 0: 4 against Cuba).[1][2]

League system
Level League(s)/Division(s)
1 Premier League of Belize
8 clubs

References
  1. "Belize Players Turned Down Match-Fixing Bribe, Coach Says". New York Times. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  2. "Cash-strapped Belize players turned down offer to fix Gold Cup game". Los Angeles Times.
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