CCCF Championship

Last updated
CCCF Championship
Copa CCCF trophy.png
Trophy awarded to the champions
Organizing body CCCF
Founded1941;84 years ago (1941)
Abolished1961;64 years ago (1961)
Region Central America
Caribbean
Number of teams9 (1961)
Qualifier for Panamerican Championship (1952–1960)
Related competitions NAFC Championship
CONCACAF Championship/Gold Cup
Last champion(s)Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica
(7th title)
Most successful club(s)Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica
(7 titles)

The CCCF Championship was an association football competition organized by CCCF as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams from Central America and the Caribbean.

Contents

History

The regional competition was born in 1938, in Panama City, with the founding of the Confederación Centroamericana y del Caribe de Fútbol (English: Central American and Caribbean Football Confederation), but the outbreak of the Second World War, a year later, prevented the first championship from taking place.

The initiative, at first, did not have great acceptance in May 1941, during the opening tournament in the Costa Rican capital San José, as only five teams were registered. The champion was the host Costa Rica and in the individual field, the Costa Rican José Rafael "Fello" Meza and the Curaçao-born Hans Najar were the top scorers, with eight goals, and the Costa Rican Hugo Zúñiga was the goalkeeper who was beaten the least, having only conceded five goals in four games. [1]

In the II Central American and Caribbean Football Championship, held in December 1943 at the Estadio Jorge "El Mágico" González in San Salvador.

The host El Salvador was shaping up to be the future champion, and to do so it only needed to beat Costa Rica. The tournament's Organizing Committee was so confident that it prepared a final ceremony with great pomp and display. Unfortunately for them, Costa Rica won 4–2, against a local team cheered on by 30,000 people. The Ticos thus aborted the Salvadoran celebration. The fans unleashed their anger against Costa Ricans and Guatemalans, who happily hugged each other in the middle of the field and were showered with insults. Members of the army intervened to guard the Costa Rican team to the Astoria Hotel, guaranteeing their safety. The site was soon surrounded by a crowd, which came defiant of their team's defeat.

El Salvador and Guatemala tied for first place with nine points, and had to play a playoff to decide the title. But the Guatemalan delegation, after the bitter experience of Costa Rica in the last game, decided to withdraw from the competition, fearful of what would happen if they won, so the Salvadoran team was the champion for having a better goal difference than the Guatemalans. [2]

The III Central American and Caribbean Football Championship, held again in San José, between February and March 1946, Guatemala was one point behind Costa Rica, which took over the title with eight points, compared to seven of its enemies.

For the IV Central American and Caribbean Football Championship, Costa Rica once again took over the laurels. An incredible 5–4 in favor of the Canaleros, in their duel against Guatemala, automatically produced the championship for Costa Rica with 11 points.

Jaime Meza, like his brother Fello did in 1941, obtained this time the title of top scorer of the championship, with 11 points; while Manuel Cantillo was declared the goalkeeper with the fewest defeats, with eight goals in five matches. [3]

Only Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica attended the 1951 Central American and Caribbean tournament, as Guatemala, El Salvador and the rest of the nations in the area declined to participate, concerned about the news of an outbreak of polio in Panama.

The first game was Costa Rica, which decided to bring a team of young people since it protected its figures from the disease, against the weak Nicaraguan team. It was the only game that the Ticos took seriously, as they won it with an unchallengeable 8–1.

However, this victory, which fueled the belief that the tournament would be another trophy for the Ticos, was just an illusion. The Panamanians soon defeated them 0–2, in a very rough game.

In the second round, Costa Rica lost the chance to retain the cup, as it tied 1–1 with Panama and beat the Panamanian team 7–2, results that gave the title to the host team and the runner-up spot to the Costa Rican team. Thanks to the title, the host qualified for the 1952 Panamerican Championship. [4]

Undefeated in six games, it was the highest scoring team, with 19 goals, and the team with the fewest goals scored, with two. These results gave Costa Rica - in March 1953 - its fourth Central American and Caribbean football title, with which it regained the crown lost two years earlier in Panama.

Costa Rica thus managed, with a football related to quality and spectacle, to overcome all rivals and add the unattainable score of 12 points.

The next tournament was held at the National Stadium in Tegucigalpa, from August 14 to 28, 1955, and was quite an event, since Guatemala withdrew after the incidents in the match against Costa Rica; the organizing committee first decided to award 2 points to all teams even though they had to play against Guatemala (Cuba, Honduras and Aruba) but following a protest from Curaçao and consultation with FIFA, it was decided on August 25 to annul all their results.

In the end, Costa Rica was the champion, winning 4 of the last 5 editions. Therefore, it qualified for the 1956 Panamerican Championship.

Havana (Cuba) took part in the IX Central American and Caribbean Football Championship between February and March 1960.

Costa Rica regained the championship title that it had lost in 1957, due to its absence from the tournament in Willemstad, Curaçao, and which on that occasion was passed on to Haiti.

The championship was played on that occasion in a single round, all against all, with the participation of Dutch Guiana, Honduras, the Netherlands Antilles, Costa Rica and the host country, Cuba, which was going through times of turmoil due to the recent revolutionary events of 1959, led by Fidel Castro.

At the end of the contest, Costa Rica and the Netherlands Antilles had six points. It was therefore necessary to hold an attractive playoff game.

The Ticos showed their hegemony and better football, and consequently, they defeated the team 4–0, thus the title once again remaining in Costa Rican territory. As an additional reward for this triumph, Costa Rica placed one of its forwards, Alberto Armijo, as the top scorer of the competition, with five goals.

No one was spared from Costa Rica's artillery during the 10th Central American and Caribbean Football Championship, held in San José in March 1961. In seven matches in the first and second phases, they scored 32 goals against the enemy. The Costa Rican team's performance, which earned them the title of the last Central American and Caribbean Championship held, was led by Juan Ulloa, author of ten victories in the competition.

An undefeated record that confirmed Costa Rica as the last champion of the regional competition. They won seven titles throughout their ten editions. An unforgettable era in which Costa Rican football was the strongest in the area.

Results

10 editions of the tournament were held. [5]

YearHostsChampionsRunners-upThird placeFourth place
1941 Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Curaçao Flag of Panama.svg  Panama
1943 Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg  Nicaragua
1946 Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras
1948 Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala Flag of Panama.svg  Panama Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Curaçao
1951 Flag of Panama.svg  Panama Flag of Panama.svg  Panama Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg  Nicaragua [nb 1]
1953 Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Curaçao
1955 Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg Honduras Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Curaçao Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador
1957 Flag of the Netherlands Antilles (1986-2010).svg  Netherlands Antilles Flag of Haiti (1859-1964).svg  Haiti Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Curaçao [nb 2] Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras Flag of Panama.svg  Panama
1960 Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Flag of the Netherlands Antilles (1986-2010).svg  Netherlands Antilles Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras Flag of Suriname (1959-1975).svg  Suriname
1961 Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras Flag of Haiti (1859-1964).svg  Haiti
Notes
  1. Only three teams participated.
  2. The Territory of Curaçao officially became the Netherlands Antilles on 15 December 1954 although the national football team played under the name of Curaçao until 1958.

Performances

TeamTitlesRunners-upThird placeFourth placeTotal
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 7
( 1941 , 1946 , 1948, 1953 , 1955, 1960, 1961 )
1
(1951)
1
(1943)
9
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 1
( 1943 )
2
(1941, 1961)
1
(1946)
1
(1955)
5
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 1
( 1951 )
1
(1948)
2
1941, 1957)
4
Flag of Haiti (1859-1964).svg  Haiti 1
(1957)
1
(1961)
2
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Curaçao /Flag of the Netherlands Antilles (1986-2010).svg  Netherlands Antilles 3
(1955, 1957 , 1960)
1
(1941)
2
(1948, 1953)
6
Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 3
(1943, 1946, 1948 )
1
(1953)
4
Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras 1
(1953)
4
( 1955 , 1957, 1960, 1961)
1
(1946)
6
Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua 1
(1951)
1
(1943)
2
Flag of Suriname (1959-1975).svg  Suriname 1
(1960)
1
Notes

Italic — Hosts

Competitive records

Team Flag of Costa Rica.svg
1941
Flag of El Salvador.svg
1943
Flag of Costa Rica.svg
1946
Flag of Guatemala.svg
1948
Flag of Panama.svg
1951
Flag of Costa Rica.svg
1953
Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg
1955
Flag of the Netherlands Antilles (1986-2010).svg
1957
Flag of Cuba.svg
1960
Flag of Costa Rica.svg
1961
Years
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Aruba 51
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 1st3rd1st1st2nd1st1st1st1st9
Flag of Cuba (sky blue).svg  Cuba [6] 755GS4
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Curaçao /Flag of the Netherlands Antilles (1959-1986).svg  Netherlands Antilles 3rd442nd2nd2ndGS7
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 2nd1st3rd5542nd7
Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 2nd2nd2nd3rdw/o [7] GS6
Flag of Haiti (1859-1964).svg  Haiti 1st42
Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras 42nd3rd3rd3rd3rd6
Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg  Nicaragua 5463rd6GS6
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 453rd1st74GS7
Flag of Suriname (1959-1975).svg  Suriname 41
Total5465377559
Legend

Records and statistics

Winning managers

YearManagerNation
1941 Flag of Costa Rica.svg Alejandro Morera Soto Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica
1943 Flag of El Salvador.svg Américo González Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador
1946 Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg Hernán Bolaños Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica
1948 Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg Hernán Bolaños Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica
1951 Flag of Chile.svg Óscar Rendoll Gómez Flag of Panama.svg  Panama
1953 Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg Otto Bumbel Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica
1955 Flag of Costa Rica.svg Alfredo Piedra Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica
1957 Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg Dan Georgiadis Flag of Haiti (1859-1964).svg  Haiti
1960 Flag of Uruguay.svg Ruben Amorín Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica
1961 Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg Eduardo Toba Muino Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica

Table Rankings

Costa Rica was the leader in the ranking and had the most participations with nine.

RankTeamPartPtsPldWDLGFGAGDTitles
1Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 94051404718956+1337
2Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 74033184119464+301
3Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 54035168118261+30-
4Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Curaçao /Flag of the Netherlands Antilles (1959-1986).svg  Netherlands Antilles 738361410127964+15-
5Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras 63331145126450+14-
6Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 72635114206094-341
7Flag of Haiti (1859-1964).svg  Haiti 21411704222201
8 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Aruba 156213990-
9Flag of Cuba (sky blue).svg  Cuba 441820161149-38-
10Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg  Nicaragua 6428202628157-129-
11Flag of Suriname (1959-1975).svg  Suriname 13411245-1-

Top goalscorers

Scoring 4 goals more it was considered the top scorer, Jimie Meza (Costa Rica) was the top scorer with 11 goals becoming the top CCCF scorer in the history

ScorerGoals
Flag of Costa Rica.svg Jamie Meza11 goals
Flag of Guatemala.svg Carlos Humberto Toledo 10 goals
Flag of Costa Rica.svg Fello Meza
Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg Roldofo Ramínez Godoy
Flag of Haiti (1859-1964).svg Charles Fenol
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Hans Nahar
8 goals
Flag of Panama.svg Rafael Arana6 goals
Flag of Costa Rica.svg Alberto Ulloa 5 goals
Flag of Costa Rica.svg Rodolfo Harrera
Flag of El Salvador.svg Mario Murillo
Flag of El Salvador.svg Juan Francisco Barazza
4 goals

Biggest wins

Below are the biggest wins in the CCCF Championship with a difference of 7 or more goals:

TeamStoreTeamEdition
Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg  Honduras 10–0Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg  Nicaragua Flag of Costa Rica.svg 1946 CCCF Championship
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 10–1Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg  Nicaragua Flag of El Salvador.svg 1946 CCCF Championship
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 10–2Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg  Nicaragua Flag of Costa Rica.svg 1961 CCCF Championship
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Curaçao 9–1Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg  Nicaragua Flag of Costa Rica.svg 1941 CCCF Championship
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 8–0Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg  Nicaragua Flag of Costa Rica.svg 1941 CCCF Championship
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Curaçao 8–0Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg  Nicaragua Flag of Costa Rica.svg 1953 CCCF Championship
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 8–0Flag of Haiti (1859-1964).svg  Haiti Flag of Costa Rica.svg 1961 CCCF Championship
Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 8–1Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg  Nicaragua Flag of El Salvador.svg 1943 CCCF Championship
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 8–1Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg  Nicaragua Flag of Panama.svg 1951 CCCF Championship
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 7–0Flag of Panama.svg  Panama Flag of Costa Rica.svg 1941 CCCF Championship
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 7–0Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua Flag of El Salvador.svg 1943 CCCF Championship
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 7–0Flag of Panama.svg  Panama Flag of Costa Rica.svg 1946 CCCF Championship
Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 7–0Flag of Nicaragua (1908-1971).svg  Nicaragua Flag of Costa Rica.svg 1946 CCCF Championship
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 7–0Flag of Panama.svg  Panama Flag of Guatemala.svg 1948 CCCF Championship

Panamerican Championship

The CCCF Championship was also an qualification path to the Panamerican Championship until 1960, only two CCCF teams participated on the championship

Team Flag of Chile.svg
1952
(6)
Flag of Mexico (1934-1968).svg
1956
(6)
Flag of Costa Rica.svg
1960
(4)
Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 6th
Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 3rd4th

See also

References

  1. "Costa Rica won the first Central American and Caribbean Football Championship undefeated". La Nación (Costa Rica). Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  2. "A fateful ending but one that ended with El Salvador as champion". La Nación (Costa Rica). Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  3. "Costa Rica won the 1946 and 1948 titles". La Nación (Costa Rica). Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  4. "Indiscipline led to Panama's crown in 1951". La Nación (Costa Rica). Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  5. "CCCF and Concacaf Championships". RSSSF . Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  6. NAFC Member 1946-1955
  7. Guatemala only played 3 matches before withdrawing the tourment