The 1994 Caribbean Cup (known as the Shell Caribbean Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth edition of the Caribbean Cup, the football championship of the Caribbean, one of the CONCACAF zones. The final stage was hosted by Trinidad and Tobago.

1994 Caribbean Cup
Shell Caribbean Cup 1994
Tournament details
Host countryTrinidad and Tobago
Teams21 (from 1 confederation)
Final positions
Champions Trinidad and Tobago (3rd title)
Runners-up Martinique
Third place Guadeloupe
Fourth place Suriname
1993
1995

Qualifying tournament edit

Regulation edit

An unusual rule was imposed in the qualifying tournament: every match was required to have a winner. If the two teams had the same score after 90 minutes, they played a sudden death extra time in which the golden goal was counted as two goals. If no team scored in the extra time, then a penalty shootout determined the winner.

Group 1 edit

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Barbados 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 3
  Grenada 2 1 0 1 4 4 0 3
  Puerto Rico 2 1 0 1 1 2 −1 3
Source: [citation needed]
Barbados  0–1  Puerto Rico

Grenada  2–0 (asdet  )  Puerto Rico

Barbados  4–2 (asdet  )  Grenada

Anomaly edit

Grenada went into the match with a superior goal difference, meaning that Barbados needed to win by at least two goals to progress to the finals. Barbados exploited two unusual rules variations in its final group stage game. First, unlike most group stages in football competitions, the organizers had deemed that all games must have a winner. All games drawn over 90 minutes would go to sudden death extra time. The second unusual rule stated that in sudden death extra time, the golden goal would count as two goals.

Barbados was leading 2–0 until the 83rd minute, an own goal by a Bajan defender made the score 2-1 and brought a new ruling into play. Approaching the dying moments, the Barbadians realized they had little chance of scoring past Grenada's mass defense in the time available, so they deliberately scored an own goal to tie the game at 2–2. This would send the game into extra time and give them another half-hour to break down the defense. The Grenadians realized what was happening and attempted to score an own goal as well, which would put Barbados back in front by one goal and would eliminate Barbados from the competition.

The Barbados players started defending their opposition's net to prevent them from doing this, and during the game's last five minutes, Grenada tried to score in either net while Barbados defended both ends of the pitch. Barbados successfully held off Grenada for the final five minutes, sending the game into extra time. In extra time, Barbados scored the game winner, and was awarded a 4–2 victory, which put them through to the next round.[1][2][3]

Group 2 edit

Played in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Guadeloupe 2 2 0 0 11 0 +11 6
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3
  Anguilla 2 0 0 2 0 11 −11 0
Source: [citation needed]
Guadeloupe  9–0  Anguilla


Group 3 edit

Played in Suriname

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Suriname 2 2 0 0 4 0 +4 6
  French Guiana 2 1 0 1 2 3 −1 3
  Guyana 2 0 0 2 1 4 −3 0
Source: [citation needed]
Suriname  2–0 (asdet  )  French Guiana

Guyana  1–1 (asdet)
(4–5 pen.)
  French Guiana

Suriname  2–0  Guyana

Group 4 edit

Played in Saint Kitts and Nevis

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Dominica 2 2 0 0 7 4 +3 6
  Saint Kitts and Nevis 2 1 0 1 11 5 +6 3
  Antigua and Barbuda 2 1 0 1 10 3 +7 3
  Montserrat 2 0 0 2 1 17 −16 0
Source: [citation needed]

Saint Kitts and Nevis  2–4 (asdet  )  Dominica

The winner of this match should have had more goal difference than Dominica but since Dominica did appear in the final tournament, it is most likely that the match wasn't played at all.

Dominica   (cancelled)   Montserrat

The match between was cancelled because of crowd trouble.

Group 5 edit

Played in Cayman Islands

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Cayman Islands 3 3 0 0 13 2 +11 9
  Jamaica 3 2 0 1 18 5 +13 6
  Sint Maarten 3 1 0 2 5 9 −4 3
  British Virgin Islands 3 0 0 3 0 20 −20 0
Source: [citation needed]
Jamaica  4–2 (asdet  )  Sint Maarten


Cayman Islands  3–2  Jamaica

Group 6 edit

Pos Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD
1   Haiti 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1
2   Dominican Republic 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1
3   Cuba (D) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source: [citation needed]
(D) Disqualified

  Cuba withdrew.

Dominican Republic  0–1  Haiti

Final tournament edit

First round edit

Played in Trinidad and Tobago.

Group A edit

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Trinidad and Tobago 3 2 1 0 7 0 +7 7
  Guadeloupe 3 1 2 0 7 2 +5 5
  Barbados 3 0 2 1 3 5 −2 2
  Dominica 3 0 1 2 1 11 −10 1
Source: [citation needed]
Barbados  1–1  Dominica
Trinidad and Tobago  0–0  Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe  5–0  Dominica

Trinidad and Tobago  5–0  Dominica
Guadeloupe  2–2  Barbados

Group B edit

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
  Martinique 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 7
  Suriname 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
  Haiti 3 1 1 1 4 6 −2 4
  Cayman Islands 3 0 1 2 3 6 −3 1
Source: [citation needed]
Haiti  3–2  Cayman Islands
Martinique  2–0  Suriname

Martinique  3–0  Haiti

Suriname  1–1  Haiti

Semi-finals edit

Trinidad and Tobago  3–2 (asdet)  Suriname
Faustin    
Dwarika  
Tol  
Kampenaar  
Martinique  4–2  Guadeloupe

3rd place match edit

Final edit

 1994 Caribbean Cup winner 
 
Trinidad and Tobago

Third title

Haiti national team defection attempt edit

Many in the Haitian national team did not want to return to Haiti following the events of the 1991 Haitian coup d'état, where Army General Raoul Cédras had led a military coup. Several Haitian players had criticized the coup d'état on a Miami-based radio station, and their messages had been played in Haiti.

Guy Delva, a journalist who was reporting on the Haitian players at the time said, "I'm wondering if they really understand the gravity of the statements they made," and it was felt by some that the players and their immediate families were in danger.

Following the Haitian team's exit from the competition, sixteen members of the national football team sought political asylum at the U.S. Embassy in Port of Spain on 14 April. They were told by embassy officials to apply from Haiti or the United States. Goalkeeper Jacques Tomaney claimed that six of his friends had already been killed in Haiti. Upon being told to return to Haiti, defender Patrick Nertilus said "We are very happy to be going home. We are the stars in our country".[4]

References edit

  1. ^ Mikkelson, David (23 June 2000). "Soccer Team Scores on Itself to Win Cup Match". Snopes. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  2. ^ Longmore, Andrew. in Sport "Absurd Cup Rule Obscures Football's Final Goal." 1 February 1994.
  3. ^ The Guardian. "Sixth Column." 5 February 1994 (Sports; p. 17). Made of CFU (Caribbean Football Union)
  4. ^ Viglucci, Andres (20 April 1994). "Turned away by U.S., Haitian athletes will have to face the music at home". Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.