When considering the ‘big’ teams in Caribbean football over the past decade, a name that has increasingly merited its inclusion in the conversation is that of Curacao.

Between 1954 – 2010, Curacao formed part of the six Dutch islands of the Netherlands Antilles. During this time, the senior Curacao football team played under the title ‘Territory of Curacao’ and was modest in its successes, placing second in both the Central American and Caribbean championships in 1955 and 1957.

In 1946, Curacao along with five other Dutch colonies formed one football team known as the Netherlands Antilles. This team would go onto play 191 games with third place finishes in the CONCACAF Championship in 1963 and 1969.

Successes such as these were the foundation for Curacao to build on following its dissolution from the other Dutch territories in 2010. Curacao became a free-standing footballing nation with the formation its federation, the Curacao Football Federation in 2011. Not only was this noteworthy considering that Curacao would now be able to stand on its own two legs with the installation of a federation, but also Curacao became one of the world’s youngest footballing nations.

Curacao’s first shot at rooting its feet firmly onto the field as an autonomous football nation came at the World Cup Qualifying Rounds for the 2014 World Cup hosted in Brazil. Curacao impressed, finishing with a record of two wins one draw and three loses in the second round of the competition.

A change of style and approach to football in Curacao came after the appointment of former Netherland’s star striker Patrick Kluivert, who was hired as Head Coach in 2015.  Kluivert brought with him an imported ideology of Dutch football into the team. Curacao now began to employ a possession-based approach to games, building out from the back while keeping the ball on the ground in relentless and ever-present triangles between players that are traditionally synonymous with Totaalvoetbal, the name given to the Dutch style of football.

Kluivert, being a former player of massive teams such as AC Milan, Ajax and Barcelona, was able to attract other high-profile players to the national team. However, it was not only this that allowed for players from all over the world especially in Europe, to play for the Curacao national team.

Fortunately for Curaçao, they were and still are generous beneficiaries of a second pool of talent to pull from which they can attract players. Owing to Curacao’s colonial past and its ties to Europe, many players who compete in the top European leagues have Curacao lineage. Kluivert utilized this and was able to integrate into the Curacao football team many top players such as Cuco Martina and Leandro Bacuna who both possess an array of experience in the world’s best leagues such as the English Premier League.  Curacao lineage has also been found within players playing in leagues outside of Europe, for example, Major League Soccer in the United States. This is where the current Curacao goalkeeper, Eloy Room, plays.

Further, with FIFA’s recent changes in the eligibility rules for players, Curacao can benefit. FIFA now allows players under 21 with three or less competitive appearances for their country to switch national allegiances. This allows for Curacao and other islands to scout players who may not be able to make the first teams of the bigger nations in Europe and the wider world.

In 2017, Curacao secured its first ever title success by defeating Jamaica in the final of the Caribbean Cup booking its place in the 2017 Goal Cup.

By the 2019/2020 CONCACAF Nations League Qualifying Rounds, Curacao was a team that had matured tremendously, holding a record of 22 goals scored with just 2 goals conceded in the competition and finishing fourth place which secured entry for the second consecutive time in the Goal Cup.

In the 2019 Goal Cup, Curacao recorded their first ever victory in the competition against Honduras and drew with Jamaica earning them a place in the quarterfinals only to lose to the United States 1-0. Despite this loss, it was apparent that Curacao was a team on the upward trajectory destined for greater achievements in the upcoming years.

Last year, Curacao exhibited another exceptional performance in the second World Cup Qualifying round beating teams like British Virgin Islands 8-0, but narrowly missed a chance of entering the third round of qualifying after a loss to Panama.

Curacao has been making a name for itself and has been cemented as a strong contender to represent Caribbean football at international competitions such as the World Cup. Nonetheless, Curacao has never qualified for the final round of the FIFA World Cup. The only Caribean countries that can boast of this are Cuba (1938), Haiti (1974), Jamaica (1998) and Trinidad and Tobago (2006).

Due to its recent success, Curacao now holds its highest ever FIFA ranking, 80th, a position that placed them as one of the top seeds in the First Round of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying in Qatar in 2022.

Although Curacao did not qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, their spirit remains unhindered owing to a gradual and steady progression and is boosted by a huge diaspora of players which represents a largely untapped market for continued successes.