suriname
SURINAME | SUR
Institutional
Team Profile
One of the founding members of Concacaf, the Surinamese Football Association has a long history, but after struggles in recent years, it is once again working to place itself among the region’s elite.
Suriname’s men’s national team took part in the Concacaf Championship in 1977 and 1985, but until 2021 was yet to make a Concacaf Gold Cup appearance.
Suriname earned that 2021 Gold Cup slot thanks to a strong showing in the Concacaf Nations League, earning four wins, a draw and tasting just one defeat to win League B’s Group D and earn promotion to the top rung of the ladder.
A legal change in the country allowed even more players to be able to represent the national team, and it was a new-look Suriname squad that took part in the Gold Cup, one still gathering up a head of steam after a second-place finish behind Canada in the first round of World Cup qualification.
A 2-1 victory over Guadeloupe in Houston in July 2021 will go down as an historic result, the first-ever win for Suriname at the Gold Cup, but the federation will be eager to capture the spirit of some of those earlier teams of yore, teams managed by greats like André Kamperveen, and achieve more in the region.
That desire stretches as well to the women’s team, who may not have the rich history of the men’s team dating back a century, but are looking to write their own story in the Concacaf W Championship.
