The Cayman Islands Men’s and Women’s National Flag Football Teams made a resounding statement on the international stage, capturing bronze medals at the 2026 IFAF Central American and Caribbean Flag Football Regional Championships.
The tournament, which took place in El Salvador from 17-22 June, marked a historic debut for Cayman as one of five nations recently approved for membership by the sport’s governing body, International Federation of American Football.
“As a new allied member, Cayman joins a dynamic global community with members spanning all five continents – Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. It comes as flag football prepares to debut at the Olympic Games in LA28, against a backdrop of soaring worldwide grassroots participation,” said the Cayman Islands Flag Football Association.
In addition to Cayman, other participating countries competing across four intense days was Jamaica, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the host nation El Salvador.
The men’s team, guided by coaches Oliver Parker and Renford Barnes, relied on a mix of experienced veterans and fresh talent, including first-time national selections Terrell Brathwaite and Kandre Amerally.
Captained by David Taylor and Reuben Barnes, the men overcame a challenging 1-4 start in pool play, landing them a 6th place seeded position, where their lone initial victory was a 27-6 win over the Dominican Republic on the first day.
However, they found their rhythm when it mattered most, securing a 14-6 quarterfinal rematch win against the Dominican Republic to advance to the semi-finals.
The Cayman men matched up with Jamaica, who on the previous day was the toughest opponent they faced. Ultimately, Jamaica claimed the win with a score of 38-20, moving them into the finals to face Puerto Rico.
Cayman bounced back in the bronze medal game, facing Nicaragua who had defeated them by a single point earlier in the tournament with a score of 28-27. At the final whistle blow, the Cayman men got their revenge with a 26-23 win, ending the tournament with a 3-5 record and earning them a spot on the podium finishing in third place.
Captain Reuben Barnes said, “We are proud. The tournament was a steppingstone to the bigger vision of what flag football in Cayman can be. Our team played against some of the top talent in the sport, and being able to pull through and achieve what we did so soon was not something anyone expected from our small island.”
Women also secure bronze
Matching the men’s podium success, was the Women’s National Team guided under the leadership of captains Lisa Malice and Erica Bosch, alongside coaches Brendon Malice and Jonathan Kanaroski.
The women’s team not only had players earning their first national team selection spots like Janel Ebanks, but the team also had players like Chrishany Hernandez who only started playing the sport this year.
Following pool play, the Cayman women were seeded third with a 2-3-1 record, highlighted by a 19-19 draw with Nicaragua and a 14-7 victory over host country El Salvador.
A 32-19 semi-final loss to Jamaica redirected the Cayman women to the bronze medal game for a rematch against El Salvador. Cayman rose to the top to secure a third-place finish with a 12-6 score and giving them a final record of 3-4-1.
“The Regional Championships brought a high level of competition together from our region and really exposed us to the level of play being played around us. We were extremely lucky to receive an invite bid to the tournament being a new member, and our main goal was to learn as much as possible,” said Cayman’s national team organiser Maggie Ebanks.
“Leaving our mark at the tournament with both teams leaving with a medal made it that much better. There’s still a lot of work to do though, as teams are continuing to train and get better,” added Ebanks.
Ebanks expressed excitement regarding the upcoming opportunities for the sport locally, saying, “We have seen the addition of the sport as a Division I collegiate sport for girls this fall, opening a world of educational scholarship opportunities for the youth.”
“Cayman National Team are fully locked into the IFAF route of the sport following the tournament. Having competed in the Regional Championships, Cayman will have an opportunity to enter national teams in the 2027 IFAF continental championships, which will serve as a qualification path to the LA28 Olympic Games,” Ebanks concluded.
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