Curaçao: Premier League Nations | OneFootball

The next destination of our alphabetical world tour is Curaçao. Officially owned by the Netherlands, Curaçao play in CONCACAF and are one of 26 FIFA nations who are not sovereign states.

From 1954 to 2010, Curaçao was part of the Netherlands Antilles. Following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, Curaçao played football under their own name and inherited the history and records of the Netherlands Antilles national team.

First Player – Shelton Martis (West Bromwich Albion; 2008-09)

The first Curaçaoan to play in the Premier League, and the only one born on the island, was Shelton Martis. The defender made seven appearances for West Bromwich Albion in 2008/09, in the middle of a career that was spent largely in the Netherlands and England.

Martis won caps for the Netherlands Antilles and Curaçao at international level, before and after the political and footballing reshuffle of the island group, respectively.

Records

Current/Most Recent Players

The most recent Curaçaoans to feature in the Premier League were brothers Leandro and Juninho Bacuna, who both played as recently as 2018/19, but each suffered relegation with their respective sides (Cardiff and Huddersfield). Cuco Martina, Kemy Agustien and Kenji Gorré all featured in the Premier League in the last decade also.

Trivia