Football in Saba

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Association football is a popular sport on the Caribbean island of Saba. [1]

Contents

Saba United Sports Federation

Sports on the island are controlled by the Saba United Sports Federation and the Commission of Social Affairs, Culture and Sports. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Facilities

The Cruyff Court Saba in The Bottom is the only football facility on the island. The artificial turf stadium was opened in April 2011. [7]

Youth football

In 1999 local resident Lynne Johnson began organising football lessons for young boys at the Man-O-War Ground (now the Cruyff Court Saba). [8] There are youth football activities for males and females on the island. [9] In May 2019 new Sports Facilitator of Saba Joelyn Robinson stated a desire to revive youth sports, including soccer. [3]

School teams

The Saba University School of Medicine has student-run intramural football activities. [10] The Saba Comprehensive School has also been instrumental in organising notable football programs, [11] including an international tournament hosted by Saba in May to June 2019. [2]

League

Unlike the other islands of the Dutch Caribbean, no organised senior football league has ever been played on Saba. [12] An inter-island competition was staged between Saba and Sint Eustatius from 2004 to 2006, but was then dissolved. [13] In July 2021 Saba signed a memorandum of understanding with Sint Eustatius to, "undertake joint initiatives such as enhancing the sports structure and related activities, organizing regional sporting tournaments and competitions...". However, football was not specifically mentioned. [14]

National team

Formerly Saba was represented in international football by the Netherlands Antilles national football team until the country was dissolved on 10 October 2010 and Saba became a separate Special Municipality. [15] Since that time there has been limited activity by a distinct Saba national football team, [16] [17] other than a series of matches against the Sint Eustatius national football team which were played until at least 2011. [18] The national football team of Bonaire, another island that holds the status of special municipality within the Netherlands proper, has been a member of the CFU and CONCACAF since 2013 through the support of the Dutch KNVB, leaving open the possibility for Saba membership in the governing bodies. [19] [20] Those associated with football in Saba have been working with the KNVB since at least 2019 when the association provided equipment to the island. [21] In August 2021 the KNVB, joined by Bert Zuurman and former Aruba national team coach Elvis Albertus, organised a football course and coaching clinic on the island. [22] [23]

The girls' team of the Saba Comprehensive School competed against an Anguilla selection in a tournament at home in summer 2019. [2] The Saba team also defeated a Sint Maarten selection to win the championship. The top male scorer in the tournament was Khalid Tavernier [24] who is a Sint Maarten youth international. [25]

List of men's international matches

As of 6 May 2011. [18]
DateHomeAwayScore
2004Flag of Sint Eustatius.svg  Sint Eustatius Flag of Saba.svg  Saba
3–1
15 July 2006Flag of Saba.svg  Saba Flag of Sint Eustatius.svg  Sint Eustatius
3–5
16 July 2006Flag of Saba.svg  Saba Flag of Sint Eustatius.svg  Sint Eustatius
5–5
20 June 2009Flag of Sint Eustatius.svg  Sint Eustatius Flag of Saba.svg  Saba
Unknown
21 June 2009Flag of Sint Eustatius.svg  Sint Eustatius Flag of Saba.svg  Saba
Unknown
27 March 2010Flag of Saba.svg  Saba Flag of Sint Eustatius.svg  Sint Eustatius
2–1
28 March 2010Flag of Saba.svg  Saba Flag of Sint Eustatius.svg  Sint Eustatius
1–2
28 March 2010Flag of Saba.svg  Saba Flag of Sint Eustatius.svg  Sint Eustatius
2–2
6 May 2011Flag of Sint Eustatius.svg  Sint Eustatius U23Flag of Saba.svg  Saba
2–1

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netherlands Antilles</span> 1954–2010 Caribbean constituent country of the Netherlands

The Netherlands Antilles was a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The country consisted of several island territories located in the Caribbean Sea. The islands were also informally known as the Dutch Antilles. The country came into being in 1954 as the autonomous successor of the Dutch colony of Curaçao and Dependencies. The Antilles were dissolved in 2010. The Dutch colony of Surinam, although it was relatively close by on the continent of South America, did not become part of the Netherlands Antilles but became a separate autonomous country in 1954. All the island territories that belonged to the Netherlands Antilles remain part of the kingdom today, although the legal status of each differs. As a group they are still commonly called the Dutch Caribbean, regardless of their legal status. People from this former territory continue to be called Antilleans in the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saba (island)</span> Special municipality of the Netherlands in Caribbean Netherlands

Saba is a Caribbean island and the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands. It consists largely of the active volcano Mount Scenery, which at 887 metres (2,910 ft) is the highest point of the entire Kingdom of the Netherlands. The island lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, southeast of the Virgin Islands. Together with Bonaire and Sint Eustatius it forms the BES islands, also known as the Caribbean Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sint Eustatius</span> Special municipality of the Netherlands

Sint Eustatius, known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a special municipality of the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SSS islands</span> Group of islands in the Caribbean Sea

The SSS islands, locally also known as the Windward Islands, is a collective term for the three territories of the Dutch Caribbean that are located within the Leeward Islands group of the Lesser Antilles. In order of population size, they are: Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba. In some contexts, the term is also used to refer to the entire island of Saint Martin, alongside Sint Eustatius and Saba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles</span> 2010 dissolution of the autonomous Caribbean country of the Netherlands

The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010.

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The Caribbean Netherlands are the three public bodies of the Netherlands that are located in the Caribbean Sea. They consist of the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, although the term "Caribbean Netherlands" is sometimes used to refer to all of the islands in the Dutch Caribbean. In legislation, the three islands are also known as Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba or the BES islands. The islands are currently classified as public bodies in the Netherlands and as overseas countries and territories of the European Union; thus, European Union law does not automatically apply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Identity card BES</span> Identity card of The Caribbean Netherlands

The Identity card BES is a uniform identity card for residents in the Caribbean Netherlands introduced upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010. The cards are machine-readable and have the size of a credit card. The front contains the words Identiteitskaart followed by the island names Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. The card also contains the coat of arms of the island of issue.

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The sport of association football in the territory of Sint Maarten is run by the Sint Maarten Soccer Association. The association administers the men's national football team, the women's national football team, and various national leagues, predominantly the Sint Maarten Senior League and SXM Elite Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonaire national football team</span> Mens national association football team representing Bonaire

The Bonaire national football team is the national football team of the Caribbean island of Bonaire, a public body of the Netherlands. It is under the control of the Bonaire Football Federation. It became a member of the CFU and an associate member of CONCACAF on 19 April 2013. after which it became a full CONCACAF member on 10 June 2014 The team can participate in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Caribbean Cup because of their membership in the confederation and sub-confederation. However, Bonaire is not a member of FIFA and therefore can not compete in the FIFA World Cup or other FIFA events.

The Statia Football Association was founded in 1980, with Mike Franco serving as president for a time, and they administered association football on the island of Sint Eustatius. It is not known if the organisation is still formally extant. If so, the association administers the men's national team, as well as the Sint Eustatius Football League. However, the league was only active from 1980 until 1985.

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Same-sex marriage has been legal in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba since 10 October 2012, the effective date of legislation passed by the States General of the Netherlands enabling same-sex couples to marry.

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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Sint Eustatius are quite progressive by Caribbean standards. Sint Eustatius forms part of the Caribbean Netherlands and is a special municipalitiy of the Netherlands. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Sint Eustatius, with same-sex marriage, registered partnership, and adoption being legal since 2012. In addition, discrimination on the basis of "heterosexual and homosexual orientation" is outlawed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic in Sint Eustatius</span> Ongoing COVID-19 viral pandemic in Sint Eustatius

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The COVID-19 pandemic in Saba is part of the ongoing global viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was confirmed to have reached the Dutch Caribbean island of Saba on April 12, 2020. At the beginning of the pandemic, the island had a population of just over 1,900 people. As of 12 May, all cases were reported to have recovered. On 1 August, two new cases were imported which resolved on 9 September.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Sint Eustatius island council election</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cruyff Court Saba</span>

Cruyff Court Saba is a soccer stadium in The Bottom, Saba, a public body of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. It is the only stadium on the island and currently hosts local soccer activity, and occasionally baseball and softball. It officially opened in April 2011 and holds the distinction of being the largest Cruyff Court in the world.

The Cottage Ball Bank is the main sports facility on the Caribbean island of Sint Eustatius. The facility contains a soccer pitch, open-air swimming pool, sports hall, baseball field, and several other fields. The facilities are also used by the island's schools. It is the national stadium as it hosts the matches of the Sint Eustatius national football team. In 2019 the Government of Sint Eustatius financed a number of renovation and expansion projects at the facility.

References

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