Football was contested for men only at the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. All matches took place at the newly constructed Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium.
The gold medal was won by Cuba for the second time, who defeated Trinidad and Tobago in the final on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's football | Cuba (CUB) | Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) | Bermuda (BER) |
Qualifying tournament
The 1973 Central American Games was the first of its kind and all games took place in Guatemala between 24 November and 2 December 1973, for U-21 teams. The tournament was won by Panama's U-21 side, with the second-placed team being Nicaragua, hence assuring qualification for the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games.
Participants
First stage
Group A
A 2 point system used.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cuba | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | +16 | 8 | Final stage |
| 2 | Trinidad and Tobago | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 4 | |
| 3 | Barbados | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Nicaragua | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 2 | |
| 5 | Puerto Rico | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 16 | −15 | 0 |
Does not include the annulled result between Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, but Trinidad and Tobago still qualified on goal difference.
| Nicaragua | 2–1 | Puerto Rico |
|---|---|---|
| Cuadra 4' Granja 50' |
Report | Luis Vega 47' |
| Barbados | 2–0 | Puerto Rico |
|---|---|---|
| Clarke 30' Prescott 69' |
Report |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 3–0 | Nicaragua |
|---|---|---|
| Llewelyn 44', 66' Roberts 55' |
Report |
| Cuba | 8–0 | Puerto Rico |
|---|---|---|
| Piedra 5', 48', 63' Roldán 18', 29', 69' Fariñas 56', 81' |
Report |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1–0 Annulled | Barbados |
|---|---|---|
| Llewelyn 5' | Report |
| Cuba | 1–0 | Trinidad and Tobago |
|---|---|---|
| Fariñas 33' | Report |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 4–0 | Puerto Rico |
|---|---|---|
| Llewelyn 18', 40', 69' Murren 56' |
Report |
Group 2
A 2 point system used.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 7 | Final stage |
| 2 | Bermuda | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 7 | |
| 3 | Panama | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Dominican Republic | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 2 | |
| 5 | Bahamas | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 2 |
Mexico won the group by lot.
| Dominican Republic | 2–3 | Bermuda |
|---|---|---|
| D. García 38' Díaz 69' |
Report | Bean 2', 89' Trott 55' |
| Dominican Republic | 2–0 | Bahamas |
|---|---|---|
| Ramírez 70' Díaz 80' |
Report |
| Dominican Republic | 1–3 | Panama |
|---|---|---|
| Ramírez 46' | Report | Escobar 45', 50' Torres 85' (pen.) |
| Dominican Republic | 0–1 | Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Caballero 86' |
Final stage
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 10 March | ||||||
| Cuba | 2 | |||||
| 12 March | ||||||
| Bermuda | 0 | |||||
| Cuba (pen) | 1 (3) | |||||
| 10 March | ||||||
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1 (0) | |||||
| Trinidad and Tobago | 2 | |||||
| Mexico | 1 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 12 March | ||||||
| Mexico | 0 | |||||
| Bermuda | 3 | |||||
Semi-finals
| Trinidad and Tobago | 2–1 | Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Haynes 76' Harris 85' |
Report | Caballero 87' |
Third-place match
Final
| Cuba | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Trinidad and Tobago |
|---|---|---|
| Delgado 100' | Report | Mitchell 107' |
| Penalties | ||
| 3–0 | ||
| 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games |
|---|
Cuba 3rd title |
Statistics
Goalscorers
There were 63 goals scored in 24 matches, for an average of 2.62 goals per match.
9 goals
7 goals
6 goals
3 goals
2 goals
- Francisco Ramírez
- Ramón Díaz
- Bardomiano Viveros
- José Luis Caballero
- Simeón Escobar
1 goal
- Luis Reynoso
- George Prescott
- Victor Clarke
- Victor Goddard
- Anthony Dill
- Winston Trott
- Dagoberto Lara
- José Luis Elejalde
- Luis Hernández
- Orestes Pérez
- Regino Delgado
- Roberto Pereira
- Dámaso García
- Víctor Rangel
- Oscar Padilla
- Daniel Báez
- Manuel Cuadra
- Víctor Manuel Granja
- Luis Vega
- Rafael Torres
- Godfrey Harris
- Peter Mitchell
- Raymond Roberts
- Selwyn Murren
- Ulric Haynes
