Unique moment in Cuban sports history | Football

sport">It concerns eleven Cuban football players who are active in England, Canada, Spain, San Marino, Costa Rica, Brazil, Guatemala, Dominican Republic and Honduras. The other fifteen selected players will play for clubs in Cuba.

sport">Under former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, professional sports practice was banned on the island in the Caribbean between 1961 and 2016. The only way for talented athletes to sign full-time contracts abroad was to flee the homeland.

sport">With the decision to admit players from foreign competitions to the national football selection from now on, the Cuban regime wants to, among other things, reduce the number of defectors and improve the performance of the national team. At the end of this month, Cuba will play World Cup qualifying matches against Guatemala and Curaçao, the team of national coach Guus Hiddink.

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