The Unión Centroamericana de Fútbol (Central American Football Union), more commonly known by the acronym UNCAF, represents the national
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
teams of
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
:
Belize
Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
,
El Salvador
El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...
,
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
,
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
, and
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
. Its member associations are part of
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...
.
Member associations
Competitions
Overview
The UNCAF organize various competitions. The
Copa Centroamericana
The Copa Centroamericana () was an association football competition organized by UNCAF as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams from Central America. The tournament was held from 1991 to 2017, every two years in the years be ...
was played every two years from 1991 until 2017, and usually featured the seven national teams.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
is the most successful team, winning the tournament eight times.
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
won the tournament four times while
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
and
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
won once each. This tournament usually ran as a qualification round for the
CONCACAF Gold Cup
The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...
.
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
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
) was the last champion (
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
). Similarly to the Copa Centroamericana, this competition qualified three teams to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. As it expanded into the
CONCACAF Champions League
The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...
in 2008, all of the Central American nations have at least one team and the Copa Interclubes UNCAF was disbanded.
National teams
*
Copa Centroamericana
The Copa Centroamericana () was an association football competition organized by UNCAF as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams from Central America. The tournament was held from 1991 to 2017, every two years in the years be ...
– Was the International tournament for Central America, top 4–5 qualify for the
CONCACAF Gold Cup
The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...
.
Club teams
*
Copa Interclubes UNCAF – Was a club championship for Central America in which the top 3 teams qualified for
CONCACAF Champions' Cup
The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...
.
*
UNCAF Women's Interclub Championship
The UNCAF Women's Interclub Championship () is Central America's women's club association football, football championship organized by Central American Football Union, UNCAF.
Results
Performance by club
Performance by country
*Guest country
...
– First edition held in
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
.
UNCAF runs several competitions which cover men's, women's, youth and
futsal
Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...
.
Current title holders
Major tournament records
National teams appearances in international tournaments
See also
*
CONCACAF Central American Cup
The CONCACAF Central American Cup () is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top regional tournament for clubs from Central America. It serves as a qualification method for the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
...
*
Caribbean Football Union
The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) is the representative organization for football (soccer), football associations in the Caribbean. It represents 25 FIFA member nations, as well as 6 territories that are not affiliated with FIFA. The Union was e ...
(CFU)
*
North American Football Union
The North American Football Union (NAFU; ; ) is a regional grouping under CONCACAF of national football organizations in the ''North American Zone''. The NAFU has no organizational structure. The statutes say "''CONCACAF shall ''recognize'' ... ...
(NAFU)
*
North American Football Confederation
The North American Football Confederation (), abbreviated as NAFC, was the governing body of association football in North America from 1946 to 1961, and a predecessor confederation of CONCACAF. Founded in 1946 under the president Carlos Alonso ...
(NAFC)
*
Confederación Centroamericana y del Caribe de Fútbol
The Confederación Centroamericana y del Caribe de Fútbol (), abbreviated as CCCF, was the governing body of association football, football in Central America and the Caribbean from 1938 to 1961, and a predecessor confederation of CONCACAF. Foun ...
(CCCF)
References
External links
*
{{CONCACAF associations
Association football sub-confederations
Sports organizations established in 1990
1990 establishments in North America