Cap (football) - Definition and Overview

In association football, a cap is an appearance for a national team. The term can be applied to any nationality of player, but is usually only used in the United Kingdom.

The term dates from the practice in the UK of awarding a cap (meaning an item of headgear) to every player in an international match. Actual caps are no longer given, but the term "cap" for an international appearance has been retained.

The current leading holders of caps (as of 25 September 2004) are:

Men

• 172 - Claudio Suárez, Mexico
• 166 - Mohamed Al-Deayea, Saudi Arabia
• 164 - Adnan Al-Talyani, United Arab Emirates
• 163 - Hossam Hassan, Egypt
• 163 - Cobi Jones, United States
• 150 - Lothar Matthäus, Germany
• 149 - Sami Al Jaber, Saudi Arabia
• 143 - Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi, Saudi Arabia
• 143 - Thomas Ravelli, Sweden
• 142 - Marko Kristal, Estonia

The United States has the most men with 100 or more caps, with eight as of 25 September 2004.

Women

• 282 - Kristine Lilly, United States
• 266 - Mia Hamm, United States
• 262 - Julie Foudy, United States
• 239 - Joy Fawcett, United States
• 199 - Tiffeny Milbrett, United States
• 186 - Fan Yunjie, China (as of 23 March 2004)
• 186 - Hege Riise, Norway (as of 23 March 2004)
• 182 - Zhao Lihong, China (as of 23 March 2004)
• 182 - Brandi Chastain, United States
• 173 - Liu Ailing, China (as of 23 March 2004)

References

• FIFA - Records and Facts (http://www.fifa.com/en/statistics/records/index.html)
• RSSSF - Players with 100+ Caps (men) (http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/century.html)