Same goes for French Guiana. The main reason is probably historical ties. Up until relatively recently they were Dutch, British and French colonies respectively. I don't know first-hand, but I would speculate they were a lot closer culturally and sporting-wise to the Carribean colonies of those nations than they were to their South American neighbours.
Me too. The only explanation is cultural. They are certainly more similar to the Caribbean in terms of language and history. They were formerly Dutch and French colonies, like many of the Caribbean islands. Now I think they both are primarily English-speaking. Does this matter? Not really - CONCACAF is also composed of Central American countries that are more similar culturally to CONMEBOL nations. But maybe it's part of it(???). Finally, if you ask their domestic football federations, surely they prefer to stay in CONCACAF where they can compete against several smaller nations, whereas in CONMEBOL they would be handily destroyed in every match.
It has to do with a number of factors. History, tradition, cultural ties with the Caribbean, less travel and expenses, and the fact that they'd not be competitive in Conmebol. It makes sense. In Concacaf they can compete with other countries relatively at their level, and be eliminated by stronger countries with a minimum of expense. In Conmebol they'd lose more and waste more money in the process. Of course, if Suriname could repatriate some players from their community in Holland, they might be quite competitive.
French Guiana is a bit of a different situation as far as I understand it because it's technically a part of France. Florent Malouda, for instance, plays for France but is from French Guiana.
Well, it's still relevant to the discussion (i.e. why some South American countries are members of CONCACAF and not CONMEBOL). The fact they and Guadalope are not members of FIFA is somewhat irrelevant in this case.
To be more accurate, French Guiana is a member of FIFA as part of France. Considering that a player joining the French Guianese team to play a CONCACAF game can play the day after in the French team, it would be a non-sense for FIFA to admit French Guiana as a member. More than that, it would be against its rules, as only one national association is accepted for each country (with the notable exception of the UK, you all know the story). Anyway, in world cup 2010's entry on Wikipedia, French Guiana is pictured grey (which means not participating). I find that quite insulting for French Guianese people in general and Florent Malouda in particular. Somehow, this is a denial of their citizenship.
Not really. Puerto Rico and Guam are unincorporated territories under US jurisidiction. Guadelouple and French Guyana are as much a part of France as Pennsylvania or Massachusetts are a part of the USA.
British Guiana, Dutch Guiana and French Guiana, now Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana were founding members of the Caribbean Football Union predating the formation of CONCACAF as a confederation by at least 30 years. Geographically the Guyana Highlands cut off the Guianas from the rest of South America. Historically the physical landscape prevented travel to the rest of South America, and the Caribbean Football Union was founded when southward travel was still an issue.
I don't think it's relevant. It's like asking "Why isn't Hawaii part of Oceania?". If Guyana and Suriname where in CONMEBOL instead of CONCACAF, it wouldn't matter to French Guinea.
Hardly, because unlike Hawaii/OFC, it's the same question with the same answer because they're in the same situation? South American football teams that are part of CONCACAF rather than CONMEBOL. And the reason is the same - historical ties to similar former colonies in the Carribean. The sovereignty issue is kind of beside the point.
I think it does have some relevance. Whilst you're quite correct to say that French Guiana is a CONCACAF member, that fact doesn't have much consequence in reality because of French Guiana's unique status. They don't compete in World Cup qualification, they have been reluctant to enter the Caribbean Cup in recent years and the fact that they don't enter that tournament means they cannot qualify for the Gold Cup (which they have never played in). They might be in CONCACAF for the same reasons, but they're certainly not in the same situation as Suriname and Guyana.
If i recall correctly clubs from French Guaiana get to play in the very early rounds of the Coupe du France, don't they? So maybe it's possible that a club from there could end up playing on the UEFA Europa League, imagine that.
Really? That would be cool. Would they be eligible for UEFA as French clubs? I guess the odds of it happening are very high against, though.
Yes, not only them it includes clubs from other places like Guadaloupe and Reunion, but apparently they didn't make it too far, think that it's on the very very early rounds of the competition. I don't know about their UEFA eligibility because the LFG regardless of being a branch of the FFF is a member of the CFU and CONCACAF. Got to see if the odds were for it if the FFF would give them one of their spots.
There is the case of FC Vaduz from Liechtenstein. They play in the Swiss league, but also in the Liechtenstein Cup, more or less win it every year, and represent Liechtenstein in the Europa League. The difference is that Switzerland and Liechtenstein are both UEFA members, but the similarity is that they represent a country where they only take part in the cup, and play in a different league.
Wellington Phoenix is the only other example I can think of where a club from one Confederation plays in the domestic competition of a country from another Confederation. The Phoenix are a New Zealand (and hence OFC) club playing in an Australian (AFC) league. In our league, the Champions (winner of the knockout final) and Premiers (top of the end-of-season league table) qualify for the AFC Champions League. As an OFC side, the Phoenix are specifically excluded from participation in any AFC competitions. They have never finished in any AFC CL qualifying spots, but if they did the runners-up would qualify in their place.
but maybe not for too much longer according to the AFC . . . http://www.the-afc.com/en/inside-afc/676-afc-news/26375-wellington-phoenix-eligible-for-acl-until-2011
Yes , dutch language is the oficial , but i think most people speak a creole language based in diferent languages ( english , dutch , portuguese ,etc ) . In Aruba , Curacao and Bonaire the most spoken language is papiamento , that is based in spanish and portuguese , with dutch and english influences .And in the northern dutch antilles ( Saint Martin ,Saba , etc ) , english is the predominant language . Maybe , the most dutch speaking countries outside Netherlands and Belgium , are incredibily South Africa and Namibia , where a creole based in dutch , is very spoken . On the other hand , i think that Suriname and Guyana dont play in South America , because they feel diferent , because they dont speak a latin language . It is ridiculous , because Concacaf is also full of latinspeaking countries . In my opinion , they should play with southamerican teams . They could play against better teams , and not against Puerto Rico , or Dominican Republic . They dont play very usually with powerful Cocacaf teams ( USA , Mexico , Honduras , Costa Rica ) . In South America , guyanese and surinamese footbal could improve better. With Guyana and Suriname in Commebol,In Copa America , southamericans dont need to invite many non southamerican teams .
This is the same situation as Toronto FC. They play in the league for the USA but they also play in the Canadian Cup (which only has 3 teams, but still...) since they are not allowed in the US Open Cup.