SAAFA has 10 members, including Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, all of which are from the South American continent. However, not all South American countries (regions) participate in the COPA-owned Copa America or the World Cup Qualifiers. There are three teams that play in South America but in North America and the Caribbean.
They are Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. These three teams appear very in the media very lowly even in the relatively competitive North and Central American divisions. Suriname is an exception. Because several Dutch internationals, including Van Dijk, Rijkaard and Gullit, have Surinamese ancestry.
In fact, did you know that Suriname also has a name - Dutch Guiana? After independence, it was renamed Suriname from Dutch Guiana.
It can be said that all three Guyana in South America play in Central and North American competitions. So, what is the relationship between these three Guyanas, and why don't they play South America but North America?
It's all about the Guyana Shield
The word Guyana comes from the local indigenous language and means watery land. The region of Guyana included present-day Guyana, French Guiana, and all of Suriname, as well as northern Brazil and eastern Venezuela. The area is located in the tropical rainforest climate zone, with high temperatures and rainy temperatures throughout the year, and many rivers.
The topography of the Guyana region is the Guyana Shield. The shield, also known as the craton, refers to an area with a large area of basal rock exposed to the surface. The landform of the shield usually exhibits a convex surface, but its convex surface is relatively flat. Its rocks are an important basis for studying geological changes.
The Guyana Shield, with the exception of the coastal areas with plains, is mostly at high altitudes, also known as the Guyana Plateau. The Guiana Plateau is the second largest plateau in South America after the Brazilian Plateau. Because it is located near the equator, it has long been affected by the equatorial low pressure belt, and it is hot and rainy all year round.
Divided into three: everything is about history
There are three places in South America called Guyana, namely Guyana (United States), Suriname (formerly Dutch Guiana) and French Guiana. Among them, two became independent from the original suzerainty, and one remained in France, becoming an overseas region of France.
Historically, in addition to British, French, and Dutch, there were also Spanish Guiana and Portuguese Guiana. Together, there are five Guyanas.
It's all about history. When Columbus's fleet reached beyond the American continent, South America lived in isolation. The arrival of Columbus' fleet shattered the tranquility here. Spain and Portugal were the first to land on the American continent, establishing Spanish Guiana and Portuguese Guiana.
Later, Britain, France, and the Netherlands also joined the process of dividing the New World. A new round of competition began on the American continent.
After centuries of contention between five great powers, the South American continent has formed five Guianas, namely Spanish Guiana, British Guiana, French Guiana, Portuguese Guiana and Dutch Guiana.
The South American continent was divided mainly between Spain and Portugal, so Guyana, the other three countries, faded out and became a dependency. Spain divided Spanish Guiana into the Viceroyalty of New Granada of Venezuela, while Portugal divided the region of Guyana into the sole Viceroyalty, Brazil.
In the 1810s and 1820s, the Latin American independence movement against Spanish and Portuguese colonial rule broke out on the South American continent, and Spanish and Portuguese colonists withdrew from the South American continent. Spanish colonies of Spanish Guiana became the territory of Gran Colombia and Venezuela, and Portuguese Guiana became the territory of Brazil.
The British, French, and Dutch territories in the Guiana Plateau were faced with a decision to determine their own destiny after World War II. Eventually, the British and Dutch became independent from their original suzerainty and became the United States of Guyana (formerly British) and Suriname (formerly Dutch). French Guiana refused to opt for independence and remained in France.
Guyana and Suriname established their own football associations after independence, because the two countries are weaker, not only weaker than the south American teams Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, but also much weaker than Venezuela and Bolivia. Therefore, joining South America is simply not possible. Second, the languages of the two countries are English and Dutch, which are obviously different from those of the former Portuguese colonies. On the contrary, it has many similarities with the West Indies in the Caribbean.
As a result, they firmly chose the North american and Caribbean division.
Guyana Football: Central and North America is also small transparent
The Guyana Football Association was founded in 1902. In 1965 Guyana became independent from the United Kingdom and established the United States of Guyana. In 1968, Guyana joined FIFA and the Central American and Caribbean Federation. As a result, Guyana qualifies for the North and Central American and Caribbean Gold Cup and World Cup qualifiers.
For COPA-copa America events, in general, the remaining two places need to be invited (directly 10 teams participated last summer), and Guyana is often not invited by SAARC.
Even if the Guyana football team goes to the North American division, they still play the role of accompanying the prince to study. In the North American and Caribbean qualifiers in the World Cup, they often fall in the second round and prepare for the next World Cup early.
The 2019 Gold Cup was guyana's first and only time so far, and they drew 1 and lost 2 without winning.
Currently, the Guyana national team ranks 174th in FIFA, compared to the Chinese team in 77th place. Guyana is ranked well below The Chinese team.
Suriname: Although it did not qualify, it is the Dutch overseas talent pool
Suriname's FIFA ranking is 141, which is lower than China but much higher than Guyana.
The Surinamese Football Association was founded in 1920 and joined FIFA in 1929. After independence in 1975, Suriname became a member of North and Central America and the Caribbean. Therefore, Suriname can participate in both World Cup qualifiers and gold cup matches.
But the gap in strength has left Suriname out of the competition. The 2021 Gold Cup is the first time that Suriname has participated in these years. The only win was a 2-1 win over Guadeloupe.
Although Suriname has never been shortlisted for the World Series, they have contributed a lot of football talent to the Netherlands.
From the beginning of Euro 1988 to today, many Dutch players have Surinamese ancestry. For example, among the Three Musketeers, Rijkaard and Gullit, Van Dijk, Seedorf, Kluivert, Davis, Promes, And Wijnaldum all have Surinamese ancestry.
Since Suriname's independence from the Netherlands, due to national turmoil, many people have gone to live in the former suzerainty of the Netherlands. Because Suriname does not recognize the dual citizenship policy, many people choose Dutch citizenship and no longer work for Suriname. That's why we see the Netherlands so strong and Suriname so weak.
French Guiana: Members of the Central American and Caribbean Football Federation are not MEMBERS of FIFA
French Guiana has long been an overseas territory of France. Today, the region is also part of the European Union.
The French Guiana Football Association was only established in 1991 and was not part of it until 2013, when it joined the Central American and Caribbean Football Federation. As a result, French Guiana can only participate in the qualifiers for the Gold Cup, but not in FIFA-owned competitions, including the World Cup, the Confederations Cup (even if it is the Gold Cup champion).
In the 2017 China-North America and Caribbean Gold Cup, French Guiana competed for the first time. This time, French Guiana impressed fans around the world. But this time they made headlines in the world media, not because of their icelandic performance, but because of a farce.
The protagonist of the farce was The then captain of French Guiana, Malouda.
Speaking of Maruda, I believe that many French fans will not be unfamiliar. That's right, he's The Frenchman Malouda, who represented France at the 2006 Fifa World Cup in Germany, the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa, the 2008 Euro 2008 Swiss-Austrian Championship, and the Poland-Ukraine 2012 European Championship.
He actually made a makeover after retiring from france to play for French Guiana. Because we know that except in the case of a change of state power in Yugoslavia, there is a situation in which Stankovic (the impact of the change of state, representing the Yugoslav Federation (1998 World Cup, Euro 2000), Serbia and Montenegro (2006 World Cup) and Serbia (2010 World Cup) appeared in the World Series). The rest of the time, a player cannot play for two national teams.
And the reason why he risked the world was because of this loophole - French Guiana is not a member of FIFA. Therefore, FIFA has a hard time managing this. Therefore, Malouda represented French Guiana in the Gold Cup, which made the CNLA also very difficult. At that Gold Cup, French Guiana was in the same group as Canada, Honduras and Costa Rica.
The reaction speed of the CNCAF is also textbook slow. It was not until the second match against Honduras that it was announced after consulting FIFA that Maruda was not eligible to play for French Guiana. However, French Guiana and Malouda eventually turned a deaf ear, and Malouda played the whole field as captain.
Afterwards, the CENTRAL AMERICAN FOOTBALL Federation, which felt that it had been ignored, reacted quickly and issued heavy fines to the French Guiana team and Malouda himself: Malouda was banned twice, and the match between French Guiana and Honduras was awarded a 0-3 defeat. In this way, Maruda, French Guiana and the Central American and Caribbean Football Federation co-directed a farce that made the headlines of the world media in a disgraceful form.