panama
PANAMA | PAN
Institutional
Team Profile
Panama was a founding member of Concacaf in 1961. In 2018, they showed that all the work can be worth it.
The senior men’s national team made their debut at the FIFA World Cup in Russia after years of programs, development initiatives and growth. Finally, a golden generation, led by players like Blas Perez, Jaime Penedo and Gabriel Gomez represented the Central American country on the biggest stage.
Panama has showed its desire to press on by retaining its spot in League A of the Concacaf Nations League after a second-place finish in its group in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2019-20.
The Canaleros also arrived into the final round of World Cup qualification once again in 2021.
The men’s team is finding a new generation, some of whom have been mentored by the same group that led Panama to the Concacaf Gold Cup final in 2005 and again in 2013. The 2021 edition marked the ninth consecutive appearance by Panama in the tournament, an impressive feat after it had participated in only one tournament, 1993, before that.
Panama’s women’s senior team was a result away from the 2019 World Cup in France and is utilizing that as motivation as it navigates Concacaf’s new women’s tournament structure and looks to follow the example of the men’s team of reaching the World Cup and then pressing on further.
