| Montserrat | |
| Badge: | Montserrat Football Association.svg |
| Badge Size: | 180px |
| Nickname: | Emerald Boys |
| Association: | Montserrat Football Association |
| Sub-Confederation: | CFU (Caribbean) |
| Coach: | Lee Bowyer |
| Captain: | Lyle Taylor |
| Most Caps: | Alex Dyer (28) |
| Top Scorer: | Lyle Taylor (12) |
| Home Stadium: | Blakes Estate Stadium |
| Fifa Trigramme: | MSR |
| Fifa Max: | 165 |
| Fifa Max Date: | August 2014 |
| Fifa Min: | 206 |
| Fifa Min Date: | January 2011 – January 2012, June 2012, August – September 2012 |
| Elo Max: | 107 |
| Elo Max Date: | February 1950 |
| Elo Min: | 233 |
| Elo Min Date: | September 2012 |
| Pattern La1: | _msr21h |
| Pattern B1: | _msr21h |
| Pattern Ra1: | _msr21h |
| Leftarm1: | 34aa49 |
| Body1: | 34aa49 |
| Rightarm1: | 34aa49 |
| Shorts1: | 34aa49 |
| Socks1: | 34aa49 |
| Pattern La2: | _msr21a |
| Pattern B2: | _msr21a |
| Pattern Ra2: | _msr21a |
| Leftarm2: | FF0000 |
| Body2: | FF0000 |
| Rightarm2: | FF0000 |
| Shorts2: | 000000 |
| Socks2: | 000000 |
| First Game: | 3–0 (Saint Lucia; 10 May 1991) |
| Largest Win: | 0–7 (Fort-de-France, Martinique; 9 September 2012) |
| Largest Loss: | 13–0 (Hamilton, Bermuda; 29 February 2004) |
| Regional Cup Apps: | 1 |
| Regional Cup First: | 2002 |
| Regional Cup Best: | Runners-Up (2002) |
The Montserrat national football team represents Montserrat in international football. Football is the second most popular sport in Montserrat, after cricket. The team plays at the Blakes Estate Stadium. The Montserrat football team was formed in 1973, and has entered the World Cup qualifiers since the 2002 edition, being eliminated in the first round on each occasion.
Due to the volcanic activity on the island from 1995 to 2010, the team has only played a handful of matches, and most of those have been away from home. Their only victories were against neighboring Anguilla in the qualifying tournament of the 1995 Caribbean Cup, winning 3–2 at home and 1–0 away. Apart from one draw against Anguilla, all their other matches before 2018 were losses. Since then, however, Montserrat has proven more competitive.
On 30 June 2002, the day of the 2002 World Cup final, Montserrat, then the lowest ranked team in the world, played against the second lowest ranked team, Bhutan, in a friendly match known as "The Other Final"; losing 4–0.
The Montserrat national team is one of the newest in international football, having played its first senior match on 10 May 1991, during the 1991 Caribbean Cup tournament. The team suffered a 3–0 defeat against Saint Lucia. The team's next match was against Anguilla; securing a 1–1 draw. Montserrat once again entered the Caribbean Cup the following year, but were once more knocked out in the group stage, with heavy defeats against Saint Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda. They were drawn against the same two teams in the 1994 Caribbean Cup, again being eliminated in the tournament's group stage, conceding 17 goals in two matches. In 1994, the Montserrat Football Association (MFA) was formed. Like all other football teams based in the Caribbean, the MFA became a member of CONCACAF.
On 26 March 1995, Montserrat played their first ever home international match. They defeated Anguilla 3–2, thus achieving their first win. The team beat Anguilla again in the next fixture, to ensure progression to the Second Qualifying Round of the 1995 Caribbean Cup. The 1–0 win in the second leg, was their only clean sheet in international football, and their most recent victory for the next seventeen years. The side exited the competition in the next stage, losing 20–0 against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Soon afterwards, the Soufrière Hills volcano became active and the eruptions destroyed Plymouth, the capital of Montserrat, severely disrupting life on the island.[1] Despite the lack of football action, the MFA became a member of FIFA in 1996. However, it was a further three years before the Montserrat team played another match. This was mostly because many of the island's footballers had emigrated from the area, many of them to England.[1]
After a four-year hiatus, the team entered the 1999 Caribbean Nations Cup. They were knocked out in the preliminary round of the tournament, losing 6–1 to the British Virgin Islands. Due to the volcanic activity on the island, Montserrat had been unable to enter the FIFA World Cup 1998 tournament, so their entry to the 2002 World Cup was their first; but it was not a success as they were defeated 6–1 by the Dominican Republic. In 2001, the MFA visited The Football Association to raise money for a new stadium. Shortly after this the Blakes Estate Stadium was opened. The team's next match was on 30 June 2002, the day of the World Cup Final, when Montserrat played Bhutan in a game known as "The Other Final". The friendly match between the two lowest-ranked teams in the world ended with a 4–0 win for Bhutan in front of 15,000 fans in Thimphu.
Montserrat entered the World Cup qualifiers once more for the 2006 competition, but again lost in the first qualifying round, this time losing 20–0 against Bermuda. Montserrat then competed in the 2005 Caribbean Cup, but once more failed to progress past the preliminary round. In 2008, they were defeated 7–1 by Suriname in the first qualifying round of the 2010 World Cup.
The team played a friendly match against a Network Rail XI on May 19, 2012, ending in a 4–4 draw.
Montserrat achieved their first victory since 1995 and their first ever victory since joining FIFA, beating the British Virgin Islands 7–0 in a 2012 Caribbean Championship qualifying match.
Montserrat's fortunes changed dramatically in 2018 with the arrival of Willie Donachie and the launch of the CONCACAF Nations League.[1] The side won three of their four qualifying games, but missed out on qualification for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup on goal difference. The team went on to take second place in their group in the inaugural season with two wins, draws, and losses each, thus keeping their place in the second tier.
Following Willie Donachie, in 2022 Matt Lockwood took over for a spell as head coach and technical director, supported in March 2023 by assistant coaches Craig Easton and David Preece.[2] [3] Just months later on September 8, Lee Bowyer took over as the Montserrat manager and Steve Gallen is the assistant. In their first game they beat Barbados with a 99th-minute winner to go second in their CONCACAF Nations League group.
Due to the team's poor results, they have often been at the lower end of the FIFA World Rankings. The loss to Bhutan in "The Other Final" saw them fall to 203rd in the rankings, becoming the worst-ranked side in the world. After the addition of another two teams to FIFA, Montserrat achieved a new low of 205th between July and October 2004. In July 2006, they achieved a record high rank of 196th, but then fell to 198th the following month. Success in the qualifying tournament for the CONCACAF Nations League and the first edition of the league proper saw them rise to 184th.[4]
The team have also languished in the lower reaches of the unofficial World Football Elo Ratings, which ranks teams directly based on their match results.
Since the team's first match in 1991, Montserrat have usually worn a first-choice kit of green, either plain green[5] or green and white hoops.[6] Currently, the away kit is a red jersey, shorts and socks.
See main article: Montserrat national football team results. The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
| Position | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Manager | Lee Bowyer | |
| Assistant Manager | Ignatius Reid | |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Raheem Jefferson | |
| Head Physiotherapist | Robinson Plymouth | |
William Lewis (2002–2004)[7] [8]
Ruel Fox (2004) Cecil Lake (2008) Kenny Dyer (2008–2013)The following players were called up to the squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF second round matches against Nicaragua on 5 June and Panama on 9 June 2024.[9]
Caps and goals correct as of 5 June 2024, after the game against .
The following players have been called up to the Montserrat squad in the last 12 months.
Players in bold are still active with Montserrat.
| width=30px | Rank | Player | width=50px | Caps | width=50px | Goals | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Dyer | 29 | 0 | 2011–present | |||
| 2 | Dean Mason | 27 | 0 | 2012–present | |||
| 3 | Craig Braham-Barrett | 25 | 0 | 2018–present | |||
| 4 | Adrian Clifton | 23 | 6 | 2015–present | |||
| 5 | James Comley | 22 | 1 | 2015–present | |||
| Joey Taylor | 22 | 1 | 2018–present | ||||
| 7 | Corrin Brooks-Meade | 21 | 0 | 2015–present | |||
| 8 | Spencer Weir-Daley | 18 | 3 | 2015–present | |||
| 18 | 4 | 2012–present | |||||
| Brandon Comley | 18 | 0 | 2018–present | ||||
| 10 | Michael Williams | 17 | 0 | 2014–2022 | |||
| Lyle Taylor | 17 | 12 | 2015–present | ||||
| width=30px | Player | width=50px | Goals | width=50px | Caps | width=50px | Ratio | Career | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lyle Taylor | 12 | 17 | 2015–present | |||||
| 2 | Adrian Clifton | 6 | 23 | 2015–present | |||||
| 3 | Jay'lee Hodgson | 4 | 7 | 2011–2014 | |||||
| 4 | 18 | 2012–present | |||||||
| 5 | Vladimir Farrell | 3 | 12 | 2000–2010 | |||||
| Spencer Weir-Daley | 3 | 18 | 2015–present | ||||||
| Brandon Barzey | 3 | 10 | 2022–present | ||||||
| 8 | Marlon Campbell | 2 | 3 | 2012 | |||||
| Ellis Remy | 2 | 6 | 2010–2014 | ||||||
| Nathan Pond | 2 | 13 | 2019–present | ||||||
| Kaleem Simon | 2 | 14 | 2021–present | ||||||
| FIFA World Cup | Qualification | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | |||||||||||||
| 1930 to 1994 | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | |||||||||||||
 1998 | Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||
 2002 | Did not qualify | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||
 2006 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | |||||||||
 2010 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | |||||||||
 2014 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | |||||||||
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||
 2022 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 4 | |||||||||
   2026 | To be determined | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||||||||
   2030 | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
 2034 | |||||||||||||||
| Total | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 15 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 19 | 56 | ||
| CONCACAF Gold Cup record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | |
| 1991 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 1993 | Did not enter | ||||||||
| 1996 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 1998 | Did not enter | ||||||||
| 2000 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2002 | |||||||||
| 2003 | Withdrew | ||||||||
| 2005 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2007 | Did not enter | ||||||||
| 2009 | |||||||||
| 2011 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2013 | |||||||||
| 2015 | |||||||||
| 2017 | Did not enter | ||||||||
 2019 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2021 | |||||||||
| 2023 | |||||||||
| Total | – | 0/17 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| CONCACAF Nations League record | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | Finals | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | Division | Group | Finals | Result | |||||||||||||||
| 2019–20 | B | B | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 2021 | Ineligible | |||||||||
| 2022–23 | B | B | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 2023 | ||||||||||
| 2023–24 | B | B | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 2024 | ||||||||||
| 2024–25 | B | A | To be determined | 2025 | |||||||||||||||
| Total | — | — | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 33 | — | Total | 0 Titles | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Caribbean Cup record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | |
| Did not enter | |||||||||
| 1991 | Colspan=8 rowspan=2 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 1992 | |||||||||
| 1993 | Colspan=8 | Did not enter | |||||||
| 1994 | Colspan=8 rowspan=2 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 1995 | |||||||||
| 1996 | Colspan=8 rowspan=3 | Did not enter | |||||||
| 1997 | |||||||||
| 1998 | |||||||||
| 1999 | Colspan=8 rowspan=3 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2001 | |||||||||
 2005 | |||||||||
| 2007 | Colspan=8 rowspan=2 | Did not enter | |||||||
| 2008 | |||||||||
 2010 | Colspan=8 rowspan=3 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2012 | |||||||||
| 2014 | |||||||||
| 2017 | Colspan=8 | Did not enter | |||||||
| Total | 0 Titles | 0/19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Against | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD | % Won | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 50% | ||
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 20 | −14 | 0% | ||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 100% | ||
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 66% | ||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 33% | ||
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | −20 | 0% | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0% | ||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | ||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 33% | ||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 100% | ||
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 0% | ||
| 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 40% | ||
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 0% | ||
| (will be played in June 2025) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0% | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0% | ||
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0% | ||
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 29 | −27 | 0% | ||
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 33% | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 27 | −27 | 0% | ||
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | −12 | 0% | ||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 100% | ||
| Total | 50 | 12 | 7 | 31 | 56 | 179 | −123 | 24% |
Note: teams in italic are not FIFA members.