Belize’s Senior Women’s National Football Team returns home with a perfect 6-win campaign in the Road to the Women’s Gold Cup

The Belize Senior Women’s National Football Team, the Lady Jaguars, are back in the country after a historic performance in this year’s games as they continue their journey to qualify and participate in the upcoming CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup. The Lady Jaguars arrived in the country early on Wednesday, December 6th, and were greeted with parades and admiration from thousands of Belizeans, including schoolchildren, who came out to meet the champions.
The team arrived on Wednesday, December 6th, via the Northern Border, and the first places that joined them in a victory parade were Corozal Town and Orange Walk Town. After mingling with everyone who came out to greet them, they headed to the Capital City of Belmopan, where another welcome parade was held before the Lady Jaguars headed into the Football Federation of Belize headquarters for a press conference.
The female national team played six matches this year, winning all of them. Through this first leg of their journey, they faced and defeated Turks and Caicos, Bonaire, and Aruba. The Lady Jaguars have now moved from League C to League B undefeated.
The last game of the year in the Gold Cup qualifying race was on Monday, December 4th, in Aruba. It was a very tight affair for Team Belize throughout the entire match. The team did not get a break until the 85th minute of the second half. The Lady Jaguars were granted a spot kick, and Mikhaila Bowden launched a powerful free kick that screamed into the top right corner of the goalpost, netting the 1-0 victory over Aruba. The scorer, Bowden, also finished as one of the team’s top scorers with five goals.
One of the national team’s goalkeepers is San Pedro’s Dennisa Pineda, who also plays for the University of Belize (UB) Black Jaguars. Pineda is no stranger to the Lady Jaguars, as she has played with them in past international tournaments. In February 2022, Pineda joined the CONCACAF Women’s Championship in San Salvador, El Salvador.
With experienced players like Pineda, the Belize’s Senior Women’s National Football Team has made history in women’s sports in the country. Many Belizean football fans have stated that the Lady Jaguars have a good chance to represent Belize at the 2024 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup football tournament in the United States of America from February 20th through March 10th of 2024.