The 2017 Caribbean Cup qualification began in March 2016. The qualification competition determined which Caribbean national teams would play in the 2017 Caribbean Cup and the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Participants
25 teams from the 31 CFU members entered the qualification tournament. Sint Maarten participated for the first time since 1997.
Twenty five nations were involved in the draw, which took place on 16 January 2016, 21:00 AST (UTC−4), at the Jolly Beach Resort & Spa resort in St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda.[1] Four teams were given a bye due to their involvement in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF fourth round.
The draw was conducted by Sonia Bien-Aime, Kirsy Rijo Charles Kullman, Chet Green and Lance Whittaker. The CFU used their own rankings to determine which teams would be given seeds based on their previous performances in the competition.[2][3]
The second round was originally scheduled for 15–21 May 2016 which is not on the FIFA Calendar.
The fifth place play-off was originally scheduled for 9–15 November 2016. However, three third round matches were postponed to 9–13 November 2016 due to Hurricane Matthew-related reasons.[5] The fifth place play-off was rescheduled to be 4–8 January 2017, and also played in a single venue in Trinidad and Tobago instead of each team hosting one match.[6]
Format
In each three-team group, each team plays one home match against one opponent, and an away match against another opponent. If any team withdraws, the remaining two teams play each other, with one home match and one away match.[7]
Should the score remain level after regular playing time, extra time will be played and should the score still be level after extra time has been played, a penalty shoot-out will take place to determine the match winners.[8] This rule was introduced to reduce the chance of a team's fate being decided by a drawing of lots.
Tiebreakers
The teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win in regulation, extra time or penalties, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[7]
^French Guiana vs. Bermuda originally took place on 1 June 2016, 20:00 UTC−3, at Stade Municipal Dr. Edmard Lama, Remire-Montjoly. but the match was abandoned with 50 minutes left due to waterlogged pitch, with Bermuda leading 1–0 at the time after an 11th-minute goal from Damon Ming.[14] The match was replayed for its entirety 18 days later.[15]
^The Jamaica v Suriname match, originally scheduled on 5 October 2016, 20:00 UTC−5, was rescheduled due to safety concerns regarding Hurricane Matthew.[17]
^The Haiti v French Guiana match, originally scheduled on 5 October 2016, 20:00 UTC−5, was rescheduled due to the impact of Hurricane Matthew.[18][19]
^The Saint Kitts and Nevis v Haiti match, originally scheduled on 11 October 2016, 20:00 UTC−4, was rescheduled due to the impact of Hurricane Matthew.[20]
There was confusion as to whether wins and goals scored in extra time count when comparing teams between different groups as laid out by the CFU regulations.[7] Ultimately, they were counted and Haiti qualified to the fifth place play-off over Antigua and Barbuda.[21]
Fifth place play-off
3 teams competed in the fifth place play-off:
3 teams qualified from the third round.
1 team from the fifth place play-off qualified for the CONCACAF Gold Cup CFU–UNCAF play-off.
^Note: Although CONCACAF quotes Gabriel Núñez as the player carrying the number 16 in the Dominican Republic; in reality, it was Edwin Muñoz who had that number. "Atlántico F.C. on Twitter". Atlántico FC. 4 June 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.