Belmopan Bandits FSC is a professional football club from Belmopan, Belize, currently competing in the Premier League of Belize. With nine championships, the club is the most successful in Belizean football since the creation of the Premier League of Belize in 2012.[2][3]
 | |
| Full name | Belmopan Bandits Football Sporting Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Bandits Los Banditos |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Ground | Isidoro Beaton Stadium, Belmopan |
| Capacity | 2,500 |
| Owner | John Saldivar[1] |
| Manager | Dale Pelayo Sr. |
| League | Premier League of Belize |
| 2022–23 | 8th |
| Website | Club website |
History edit
The club was founded in 1986 as the Builders Hardware Bandits.[4] After a period of inactivity, it returned in 2011 and quickly re-established itself as one of the country's top clubs. By 2017, Belmopan Bandits had won seven of the last eleven titles in Belize's top division, including the Premier League of Belize and its predecessor leagues.[5] The club qualified for the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League but was ultimately replaced by Costa Rica's C.S. Herediano after the surface of the FFB Stadium was deemed unplayable.[6] If they would have appeared in the tournament, the club would have been the first from Belize to participate in the competition since 2008–09.[7] By winning the 2014–15 championship, the club won the title for the fourth time in six seasons and its third championship in a row.[8] By 2016, the club was recognized by Amandala as having a stable ownership and financial security without scandals or controversies, and a number of members of the Belize national team in the squad.[9]
In July 2017, Belmopan Bandits won the Quadrangular Football Tournament held in San Pedro Town, beating the top teams from Ambergris Caye.[10] Later that summer the club made its CONCACAF debut in the 2017 CONCACAF League, the inaugural edition of the tournament. Honduran international and 2010 FIFA World Cup participant Georgie Welcome led the team's offense. They were eliminated by C.D. Walter Ferretti of Nicaragua in the Round of 16 with an aggregate score of 1–5. The team qualified for the competition again in 2018.[11] In their second attempt, the club was eliminated in the Round of 16 again, losing a well-played series against F.C. Motagua 0–3 on aggregate. By qualifying for the 2019 CONCACAF League, Belmopan Bandits became the first-ever club to qualify for the competition three consecutive seasons.[12]
In October 2021, Belmopan Bandits issued a statement that it would not participate in the 2021–22 FFB Top League which was organized by the Football Federation of Belize to replace the PLB season cancelled because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The club stated that their protest was because Clifford King, the person club management viewed as the legitimately elected President of the FFB, was not recognized by the federation. The matter was taken up by with the Supreme Court of Belize.[13]
In February 2023, it was announced that the club had entered a sponsorship agreement with Internacional Futbol Club of Mexico which would increase Belmopan's technical and financial resources. As part of the deal, Belmopan Bandits rebranded as Bandits-Internacional FC. While the original club would maintain ownership, Internacional FC would take over all operations and offer opportunities for Belizean players to sign in Mexico. The club played its first match under its new name against Altitude FC on 11 February 2023.[14] Before the end of the 2022–23 season, the club returned to wearing its original Bandits uniforms. In May 2023, it was announced that the club had ended its sponsorship agreement with Internacional FC and would return as the Belmopan Bandits for the 2023–24 season. The half season as played under the Bandits-Internacional FC moniker saw the club earn its worst-ever Closing Championship performance.[15]
Record edit
Year-by-year edit
- Key
Champion Runners-up Third place
| Season | League | Notes | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Div. | Round | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | Pts. | Play-Offs | Round | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | Pts. | Play-Offs | ||
| 2012[16] | 1st | Opening | 5th, Southern Zone | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 7 | DNQ | Closing | 1st, Zone A
|
14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 1st
|
|
| 2012/13[17] | Opening | 1st, Zone A
|
14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 1st
|
Closing | 1st
|
14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 32 | Semis | ||
| 2013/14[18] | Opening | 3rd
|
12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 1st
|
Closing | 2nd
|
12 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 1st
|
||
| 2014/15[19] | Opening | 3rd
|
8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 1st
|
Closing | 3rd
|
8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 2nd
|
||
| 2015/16[20] | Opening | 1st
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 21 | Semis | Closing | 3rd
|
10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 1st
|
||
| 2016/17[21] | Opening | 1st
|
16 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 1st
|
Closing | 1st
|
14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 1st
|
||
| 2017/18[22] | Opening | 1st
|
14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 2nd
|
Closing | 1st
|
14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 1st
|
||
| 2018/19[23] | Opening | 1st
|
14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 33 | 1st
|
Closing | 2nd
|
14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 25 | 2nd
|
||
| 2019/20[24] | Opening | 2nd
|
14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 28 | 2nd
|
Closing | 2nd
|
7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 | N/A | Closing Round abandoned because of COVID-19 pandemic | |
| 2021/22[25] | Did not enter | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022/23[25] | Opening | 8th
|
14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 8 | DNQ | Closing | 8th
|
14 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 2 | DNQ | ||
| 2023/24[26] | Opening | 7th
|
14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 8 | DNQ | Closing | TBD
|
||||||||
International competitions edit
| Season | Competition | Round | Opponent | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15[6] | CONCACAF Champions League | Group Stage | withdrawn, replaced by  Herediano
| |||
| 2017[27] | CONCACAF League | Round of 16 |  Walter Ferretti
|
1–4 | 0–3 | 1–5 |
| 2018[28] | CONCACAF League | Round of 16 |  Motagua
|
0–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 |
| 2019[29] | CONCACAF League | Preliminary round | Saprissa
|
1–3 | 1–3 | 2–6 |
Honours edit
- Belize National Division
- Runners-Up (1)
- 2000-01
- Runners-Up (1)
- BPFL Regent Challenge Champions Cup
- Runners-Up (2)
- 2002-03, 2003
- Runners-Up (2)
- Quadrangular Football Tournament
- Winners (1)
- 2017
- Winners (1)
Basketball edit
Belmopan Bandits is an multi-sports club that also operates a basketball team in the Belize Elite Basketball League (BEBL). The team won its first league championship in 2017.[30]
References edit
- ^ "The Bandits' nightmare". Amandala.com. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ a b Schöggl, Hans. "Belize - List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "About Us". Belmopan Bandits FSC. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ Schöggl, Hans. "Belize - List of Foundation Dates". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ Cuthkelvin, Delroy. "Belmopan bandits sports success story". Breaking Belize News. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ a b "CONCACAF Champions League: Costa Rica's Herediano to replace Belize's Belmopan Bandits". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ Hernandez, Cesar. "Mexican sides primed for CCL success". ESPN. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "FIFA President congratulates Belmopan Bandits". amandala.com. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "The Bandits are coming to town; old Belize City vs new capital". Amandala.com. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Belmopan Bandits win Quadrangular Football Tournament". San Pedro Sun. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "Stability has Belmopan Bandits poised for SCL run". Concacaf. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "Belmopan Bandits will feature in the SCL for the third time". Concacaf. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "Belmopan Bandits issues press release". Amandala.com. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ Iglesias, Rubén Morales. "Bandits strike sponsorship deal with Mexican football club, change name to Internacional Fútbol Club". Breaking Belize News. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ Iglesias, Rubén Morales. "Bandits drop name Internacional, return for next Premier League of Belize season". Breaking Belize News. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ King, Ian; Schöggl, Hans. "Belize 2012". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ King, Ian. "Belize 2013". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ King, Ian. "Belize 2013/14". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ King, Ian. "Belize 2014/15". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ King, Ian. "Belize 2015/16". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Schöggl, Hans; Stokkermans, Karel. "Belize 2016/17". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Schöggl, Hans; Stokkermans, Karel. "Belize 2017/18". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Stokkermans, Karel. "Belize 2018/19". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Stokkermans, Karel. "Belize 2019/20". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ a b King, Ian; Stokkermans, Karel. "Belize 2022/23". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Stokkermans, Karel. "Belize 2023/24". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Lugo, Erik Francisco. "Central American Club Competitions 2017/18". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Lugo, Erik Francisco. "Central American Club Competitions 2018/19". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Lugo, Erik Francisco. "Central American Club Competitions 2019/20". RSSSF. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Gladden, Charleston. "Belmopan Bandits captured their first NEBL Championship defeating San Pedro Tiger Sharks". Belize Elite Basketball League. Retrieved 26 March 2024.