Saint Lucia's men's football team travel to Guadeloupe on Friday, November 13 to face Bermuda in a League B, Group B fixture at the Stade Roger Zami, with kick-off set for 7:00 PM. For the visitors it is a chance to keep a strong qualifying run going; for Bermuda, it is a must-win game simply to get off the mark.
As reported by FOX Sports, Bermuda go into the match without a single point from their campaign so far. Their most recent results make grim reading: a 2-1 home defeat to Barbados on October 5, a 4-1 loss away to the same opponents three days earlier, a 5-2 defeat in Saint Lucia on September 28, a 2-1 home loss to Grenada on September 25, and a 3-0 reverse away to Cape Verde back in June.
Saint Lucia, by contrast, arrive on the back of three consecutive wins in the group. They beat Grenada 1-0 away on October 5, then won 3-0 at home to Grenada on October 2, and thumped Bermuda 5-2 in the reverse fixture on September 28. That home win over Friday's opponents will give the squad every reason for confidence heading into the return.
The wider picture has its blemishes. Saint Lucia's last result before this winning run was a 2-0 defeat away to Barbados on September 25, and further back they lost 6-1 in Azerbaijan in March. The team has therefore shown both sides of its character in this campaign, and consistency against the group's weaker sides is exactly what Friday's fixture tests.
For followers of sport in Saint Lucia, the national team's form is a welcome story. Football is the game played most widely on the island, on village fields, beach strips and floodlit artificial pitches, and the Saint Lucia Football Association has been a FIFA member since 1988. The men's team has taken part in World Cup qualifying for decades and has competed in the CONCACAF Nations League, though a place at a men's World Cup finals still eludes the island.
Victory in Guadeloupe would strengthen Saint Lucia's position in Group B with the qualifying window closing, and would confirm that the 5-2 win over Bermuda in September was no fluke. Bermuda, on home paper but playing in Guadeloupe, will feel the pressure of five straight defeats and a goal difference already badly damaged by the Saint Lucia defeat.
The match also lands at a moment when the island's sporting profile is high. Cricket in St Lucia draws the biggest international attention, with the Caribbean Premier League returning to the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground near Gros Islet each August, but the footballers' qualifying campaign gives supporters another reason to follow results from abroad through the autumn.
For visitors, the fixture is a reminder of how much live sport there is to catch on the island. Village football matches are a fixture of weekend afternoons, often on grounds beside the sea or in the hills, and grounds such as the Philip Marcellin Grounds in Vieux Fort have stands and floodlights. Ask at your hotel about local fixtures and you will usually be pointed to a friendly game nearby, a genuinely local experience for anyone on holidays to St Lucia who wants more than the beach.
Timing matters for anyone thinking of combining a trip with the football calendar or the island's wider sporting year. November sits in the drier, cooler stretch that many consider the best time to visit St Lucia, well outside the Caribbean Premier League window in August, so travelling supporters would be following the national team rather than watching in person unless a home fixture falls within their dates.
Getting there is straightforward enough for such a small island. Direct flights to St Lucia from the UK land at Hewanorra International Airport in the south, with transfers to the resort areas of the north-west taking around an hour and a half. Visitors heading to a match in Vieux Fort actually arrive closer to the action, since the airport is only a short drive from the Philip Marcellin Grounds.
Where to stay depends on the trip. There is a wide range of hotels in St Lucia, from large resort properties along Rodney Bay and Rodney Bay Village to smaller hideaways on the quieter south-western coast, and families in particular find the all-inclusive format suits the long transfer times and the mix of beach and activities on offer.
Football aside, the island gives travelling fans plenty to fill the days around a fixture. Among the things to do in St Lucia, the Sulphur Springs and the drive-in volcano near Soufrière rank high, as do boat trips along the west coast and the Tet Paul trail with its views across the southern mountains. The island's Atlantic-facing east coast is wilder, while the calmer western bays hold the best swimming and snorkelling.
The beaches in St Lucia themselves range from the long sweep of Reduit Beach in the north, close to the nightlife of Rodney Bay, to secluded coves near Soufrière that are best reached by boat. Between matches or fixtures, a day moving between the two coasts is one of the simplest ways to get a feel for how varied the island is.
Whether Friday's match in Guadeloupe goes to form or Bermuda finally find a result, Saint Lucia's qualifying campaign has already given the island something to cheer. The next checkpoint comes quickly after the final whistle, and with the group entering its closing stages, every point now shapes where this team finishes.
Plan your St Lucia holiday
- Hotels in St Lucia: resorts, villas and boutique stays compared.
- Things to do in St Lucia: from the Pitons to the sulphur springs.
- Best time to visit St Lucia: weather, seasons and prices by month.
- Flights to St Lucia: routes from the UK and what to expect.
- Plan your St Lucia holiday: ask us anything, or send an enquiry.