No group stage exit, no worries. Caribbean’s competitive base is deepening

July 4 – This Gold Cup was the first time that a Caribbean nation has not make it out of the group stage since 1996 when the competition had just nine national teams and went from three groups straight to a semi-final.

In every Gold Cup since then the Caribbean has always had a representative in the knock-out rounds and usually Jamaica, who were losing finalists in 2015 and 2017, or Haiti.

The performance in 2025 has propagated some discussion amongst FA presidents in the region...