Antigua and Barbuda women's national football team explained

The Antigua and Barbuda women's national football team, nicknamed The Benna Girls, is the national women's football team of Antigua and Barbuda and is overseen by the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association, a member of the CONCACAF and the Caribbean Football Union.

History

First Internationals (2004)

On 28 August 2004, after 34 years the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association became affiliated with the FIFA, Antigua and Barbuda women's football team had its first official match with Anguilla in Saint John. The game finished in favour of Antigua and Barbuda, with a 1–0 victory. The next day, they faced again and this time, the winning team was Anguilla.

Women's Caribbean Cup (2006)

The 2006 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup qualification round was the first official competition in which Antigua and Barbuda participated in, also one of the qualifying stages was the second edition of the CFU Women's Caribbean Cup, who took place in Trinidad & Tobago. In the way, they faced Barbados in the first stage; the aggregate score between them was 1–0, product of an away victory and a goalless draw. The Benna Girls automatically advanced to the next stage.

Group C
Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
	9	3	3	0	0	27	0	+27
	6	3	2	0	1	5	8	−3
	3	3	1	0	2	5	16	−11
	0	3	0	0	3	3	16	−13

In the First Round, the team was drawn in a Group (C) with Jamaica, St. Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis. However, the results were negative, as they lost the three games they played. Antigua and Barbuda played all of its matches in Kingston, Jamaica. The three goalscorers for Antigua and Barbuda were Whitney Jacobs, Odeal Simon and Shennell Henry, with one goal each. The Benna Girls failed to qualify for the final tournament.

Unfavorable results at international competitions (2007–2010)

2008 Summer Olympics

During the 2008 Summer Olympics qualifiers, Antigua and Barbuda was sharing the group with Jamaica, Bermuda and Dominica. The only victory they had was in the first game, to Dominica by 3–0, and the first of two in 2007–2010. The Benna Girls achieved their worst defeat on the second match with Jamaica, a 12–0. The closing encounter with Bermuda had a 4–0 result, again from the rivals.

width=200	Team	width=20	Pld	width=20	W	width=20	D	width=20	L	width=20	GF	width=20	GA	width=20	GD	width=20	Pts
	3	3	0	0	24	0	+24	9
	3	2	0	1	12	4	+8	6
	3	1	0	2	3	16	−13	3
	3	0	0	3	0	19	−19	0

2010 Gold Cup qualifiers

Antigua and Barbuda opened the qualifying round for the 2010 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup, who took place in Mexico, down by 2–1 against St. Lucia. The second game marked the second win during 2007–2010. The game was with the US Virgin Islands and counted with the goals of Lewis, Simon and Thomas. Both games were in home venue at Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's, the country's capital city. Thanks to their only victory, they advanced to the Second Round.

width=200	Team	width=20		width=20		width=20		width=20		width=20		width=20		width=20		width=20
	2	2	0	0	9	1	+8	6
	2	1	0	1	4	3	+1	3
	2	0	0	2	1	10	−9	0

The team was drawn in Group G during the Second Round. Antigua and Barbuda was beaten by the three teams who played with them, with a margin of more than three goals. The Benna Girls scored first goal of two in this round in a 4–1 loss with Haiti. The encounters with both Puerto Rico and Cuba finished in heavy defeats, with 8–0 and 6–1 respectively. All the games were played in Marabella, Trinidad and Tobago.

width=200	Team	width=20		width=20		width=20		width=20		width=20		width=20		width=20		width=20
	3	3	0	0	9	1	+8	9
	3	2	0	1	10	7	+3	6
	3	1	0	2	11	6	+5	3
	3	0	0	3	2	18	−16	0

Women's Caribbean Cup (2014)

Antigua and Barbuda was registered on the qualification tournament of the 2014 CFU Women's Caribbean Cup, who also served as the qualifying tournament for both the 2014 CONCACAF Women's Championship and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Antigua & Barbuda and the other members of the group played the games on Antigua Recreation Ground in St. John's, the country's capital city. The Benna Girls won the three games, all of them with 1–0 versus U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Vincent & the Grenadines and Aruba. Antigua and Barbuda qualified for the final tournament in Trinidad and Tobago.

For the final tournament, the team was in Group B with the hosts Trinidad & Tobago, Martinique and St. Kitts & Nevis. It had a bad debut with Martinique in Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, due to a 2–0 loss. The second game with the host country also finished on a defeat of a margin of three goals to zero. The team had their farewell with a 2–1 lost game against St. Kitts and Nevis. They finished the tournament with zero points and a –6 goal difference. The only goalscorer for the Benna Girls was Breanna Humphreys.

Team image

Kits and crest

The current kit of the Antigua and Barbuda national football team is made by Joma Sport. The team has three different colored uniforms. The yellow uniform is the primary one, normally used for home matches. The black ones are the usually for away matches. The team also has red as an alternate.

Kit suppliers

Kit manufacturer	Period
Adidas	2006–2011
Peak	2012–2018
Joma	2019–current

Results and fixtures

See also: 2022 in association football, 2022 in sports and FIFA International Match Calendar.

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

2023

Head-to-head record

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD
	2	1	0	1	1	1	0
	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
	1	0	0	1	0	4	-4
	1	0	0	1	1	6	-5
	2	1	1	0	3	0	+3
	1	0	0	1	1	4	-3
	2	0	0	2	0	22	-22
	1	0	0	1	0	2	-2
	1	0	0	1	0	8	-8
	2	0	0	2	2	4	-2
	2	0	0	2	3	5	-2
	3	3	0	0	6	1	+5
	1	0	0	1	0	3	-3
	2	2	0	0	4	1	+3
Total	23	9	1	13	23	61	-38

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

As of September 2023

• Coaching and Management Staff
• Esther Anthony - Team Manager
• Astel Joseph - Head Coach
• Karen Warner - Assistant Coach
• Nikisha Samuel - Goalkeeper Coach
• Lakeisha Samuel - Equipment Manager
• Jessica Hall - Physiotherapist
• Mclean Lawrence - Trainer^[1]

Manager history

• Prince Borde (January 2022–current)

Players

Up-to-date caps, goals, and statistics are not publicly available; therefore, caps and goals listed may be incorrect.

Current squad

• The following players were named to the squad to play the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup qualification games against Guyana and Suriname on 29 November and 3 December 2023, respectively. ^{[2] [3]}

Recent call-ups

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record
Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD
1991	Did not exist
1995
1999
2003
2007	Did not qualify
2011
2015
2019
2023
2027	To be determined
Total	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

• Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Olympic Games

Summer Olympics record										Qualifying record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD
1996	Did not exist	Did not exist
2000
2004
2008	Did not qualify									3	1	0	2	3	16	-13
2012	Did not enter	Did not enter
2016
2020	Did not qualify	4	1	0	3	2	18	-16
2024	4	1	0	3	2	17	-15
Total	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		11	3	0	8	7	51	-44

• Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

CONCACAF Women's Championship

CONCACAF W Championship record										Qualification record
Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD		GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD
1991	Did not exist	Did not exist
1993
1994
1998
2000
2002
2006	Did not qualify	5	1	1	3	4	16	-12
2010	5	1	0	4	6	21	-15
2014	2014 Caribbean Cup
2018	7	3	0	4	5	26	-21
2022	In progress
Total	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		17	5	1	11	15	63	-48

• Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

CFU Women's Caribbean Cup

CFU Women's Caribbean Cup record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
2000	Did not exist
2014	Final Round	6	3	0	3	4	7
Total	Final Round	6	3	0	3	4	7

• Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

See also

• Sport in Antigua and Barbuda
  • Football in Antigua and Barbuda
    • Women's football in Antigua and Barbuda
• Antigua and Barbuda men's national football team

References

https://antiguaobserver.com/we-are-rather-confident-gomes-believes-us-based-borde-is-right-fit-for-senior-womens-team/amp/

External links

• FIFA Team Profile
• Official website

Notes and References

1. https://www.facebook.com/antiguaandbarbudafa/ Here is final roster of the Antigua and Barbuda Senior Women National team! . They will face Guyana tomorrow, September 20th 4:00pm, at the ABFA Technical Center. Come out and show your support to our BENNA GIRLS!
2. https://globalsportsarchive.com/match/soccer/2023-12-03/guyana-vs-antigua-and-barbuda/3161599/ Match info
3. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=354258933960146&set=a.183654527687255 match info