Reggae Boyz set for tough Nations League encounters

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz will not have it all their own way when the 2026-27 Concacaf Nations League gets under way in September.

The Jamaicans find themselves in Group B of League A with fellow Concacaf powerhouses Honduras and Guatemala as well as Suriname, Martinique, and El Salvador.

The fifth edition of the tournament will be played during the FIFA match windows of September-October and November 2026 before culminating in March 2027 with the Concacaf Nations League Finals for League A, and, for the first time, centralised championships for Leagues B and C.

The Concacaf Nations League will continue to be contested across three leagues, with national teams distributed based on results from the previous edition and the competition’s promotion and relegation system.

LEAGUE A FORMAT

League A will feature 16 national teams, including a group stage and quarterfinals. The 12 lowest-ranked League A teams, based on the Concacaf Rankings, will compete in a Swiss-style group stage format, split into two groups of six teams each. Every team will play four matches — two home and two away.

Group A: Costa Rica, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Curaçao, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic

Group B: Honduras, Jamaica, Guatemala, Suriname, Martinique, El Salvador

Following group-stage play in the September-October FIFA match window, the top two finishers from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, joining the four highest-ranked League A teams — Mexico (1), United States (2), Canada (3), and Panama (4) — who receive direct entry.

The matchups for the quarterfinals will be determined based on the competition regulations, and are as follows:

QF1: Fourth-ranked seeded team vs Best first place (1A/1B)

QF2: Third-ranked seeded team vs Next best first place (1A/1B)

QF3: Second-ranked seeded team vs Best second place (2A/2B)

QF4: Best-ranked seeded team vs Next best second place (2A/2B)

The quarterfinals will be played in a home-and-away series in November 2026, with aggregate winners advancing to the Concacaf Nations League Finals, to be played at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium.

LEAGUE B FORMAT

League B will feature 16 teams divided into four groups of four. During the September-October and November FIFA match windows, each team will play home-and-away matches against every opponent in its group, for a total of six matches per team.

Group A: Guyana, Puerto Rico, Dominica, Cayman Islands

Group B: Guadeloupe, Bermuda, Saint Lucia, Barbados

Group C: Cuba, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Bonaire

Group D: French Guiana, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Sint Maarten

Group-stage matches will be played at centralised venues, a format change introduced in the last edition to reduce travel demands and support member associations in delivering the highest possible standards of competition. The matches in September and October will be hosted by the third- and second-highest-ranked teams in each group, respectively, with the November matches hosted by the highest-ranked teams.

Following group stage play, the four group winners will advance to the league’s championship, where they will compete for the title of League B champions.

LEAGUE C FORMAT

League C will feature nine teams divided into three groups of three. During the September-October FIFA match window, each team will play every team in its group twice, for a total of four matches per team. Matches will also take place at centralised venues, with the highest-ranked team in each group hosting them.

Group A: Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands

Group B: Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Anguilla

Group C: Saint Martin, Bahamas, US Virgin Islands

Following group-stage play, the three group winners and the best second-place finishers will advance to the league’s championship, where they will compete for the title of League C champions.

PROMOTION AND RELEGATION

Promotion and relegation between leagues will take place at the conclusion of the competition as follows:

• League A: Fifth- and sixth-place finishers will be relegated to League B.

• League B: Group winners will be promoted to League A, while fourth-place finishers will be relegated to League C.

• League C: Group winners and the best second-place finishers will be promoted to League B.

The 2026-27 Concacaf Nations League will serve as the qualifiers for the 2027 Concacaf Gold Cup. Concacaf will announce the exact qualifying criteria at a later date.