In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the early days of football, the concept of each team wearing a set of matching shirts had not been universally adopted, so each side would distinguish itself from the other by wearing a specific sort of cap.
Various international honours caps
An early illustration of the first international football match between Scotland and England in 1872 shows the Scottish players wearing cowls, and the English wearing a variety of school caps. The practice was first approved on 10 May 1886 for association football after a proposal made by N. Lane Jackson , founder of the Corinthians:
That all players taking part for England in future international matches be presented with a white silk cap with red rose embroidered on the front. These to be termed International Caps.[1]
The act of awarding a cap is now international and is applied to other sports. Although in some sports physical caps may not now always be given (whether at all or for each appearance) the term cap for an international or other appearance has been retained as an indicator of the number of occasions on which a sportsperson has represented a team in a particular sport. Thus, a "cap" is awarded for each game played and so a player who has played x games for the team is said to have been capped x times or have won x caps.
The practice of awarding a physical cap varies from sport to sport. It may be awarded before a player's debut or, particularly for national teams, a commemorative cap may be awarded after a player reaches the 100th cap.[2][3]
Some men's association football teams still award physical caps. Players are awarded one cap for every match they play – unless they play in a World Cup or European Championship finals tournament, then they are given a single cap for the competition, with the names of all their opponents stitched into the fabric of the cap itself. For example, when David Beckham made his one-hundredth appearance for England, because a number of his appearances had been at World Cup and European Championship final tournaments for which he could only receive one cap, he received only his 85th physical cap.[4] In Scotland, for many years the practice was to present caps only for appearances in the British Home Championship, meaning that several players never received one (including those in their 1958 FIFA World Cup squad); this anomaly was rectified retrospectively in the 2000s after pressure from players' families.[5][6][7]
FIFA recognises certain international games as ones where a player can be awarded a cap – these games are regarded as International "A" games. These are matches in which both nations field their first Representative Team.[8]
The world record holder for the highest number of international caps as of 5 November 2010 is retired American player Kristine Lilly, who has 354 caps. In men's association football, the record belongs to Bader Al-Mutawa of Kuwait; he surpassed Ahmad Hassan with his 184th cap on 27 March 2012. The first footballer to win 100 international caps was Billy Wright of England's Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wright went on to appear 105 times for England, 90 of them he obtained whilst he was a captain.
Bold denotes players currently active in international football.
As in association football, cricket still awards a physical cap. Caps are awarded both at international and domestic level, however the criteria for winning a cap differs between international and domestic cricket.
In international cricket, a player is awarded a cap for every appearance made. It is common for a player to be presented with their cap in a ceremony on the first morning of their maiden Test match, although a physical cap may not be presented for every occasion on which a player represents his country. International caps are numbered according to the number of players who have represented the country before. For example, cap number 50 is awarded to the fiftieth player to represent the country.[1]
In some domestic cricket competitions, caps are also awarded. However, they are not awarded automatically for every appearance made, but instead at the discretion of the administrators of the club for whom the recipient plays, and are a one-off recognition that the recipient is now a regular, established player for the club. The most prevalent example of this system is in English county cricket, in which many First Class counties award a "county cap" to players.
As of April 2021, 70 players have won 100 or more caps in Test cricket.
Records
Players still active at Test level are in bold type.
In rugby union, 64 players have reached 100 international caps as of 27 Oct 2019. Players from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are eligible for selection to the British & Irish Lions touring squad. Lions matches are classed as full international tests, and caps are awarded. The Pacific Islanders team, composed of players from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Niue and Cook Islands have a similar arrangement, although no players involved have so far reached 100 caps (Fijian Nicky Little is closest with 71 caps).
Players still active at Test level are in bold type.
Physical caps are not distributed by the International Netball Federation but the term is still widely used to signify appearances. Irene van Dyk has won the most international caps having represented two nations after her switch to the Silver Ferns, a move that was allowed as the INF rules only prohibited players from representing two nations in one calendar year. Mary Waya is the only other woman to have earned over 200 caps in her thirty-year career, with exact numbers being difficult to confirm.[15]
Players still active at Test level are in bold type.
^"What does the term 'Cap' mean in sport?". albionsports.wordpress.com. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
^"All Blacks century-makers: What it takes to crack 100". The New Zealand Herald. 9 October 2015.
^"Steven Gerrard memorabilia to be exhibited at Anfield". Sky Sports. 15 May 2015.
^. Reuters. Archived from the original on 30 March 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
^Paul Weaver (21 November 2005). "Tale of injustice that prompted a son to shine". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
^Eddie Turnbull: Having a Ball, Eddie Turnbull, Martin Hannan; Random House, 2012, ISBN9781780574684
^Shades: The Short Life and Tragic Death of Erich Schaedler, Colin Leslie; Black & White Publishing, 2013, ISBN9781845027308
^"Regulations Governing International Matches" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
^"FIFA Century Club" (PDF). FIFA. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
^Cortegana, Mario. "Spain defender Sergio Ramos retires from international football". The Athletic. The Athletic. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
^"Individual Records". stats.espncricinfo.com. ESPN Cricinfo. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
^"One-Day International Records". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
^"Player Records – Total Matches Played". ESPN Scum.
^"RLIF to award 'golden caps'". TotalRL.com. Total Rugby League. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
^"Mary Waya". LinkedIn Slide Share. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sports honours caps.
—FIFA
Players with 100+ Caps (men) RSSSF
—National Museum of Scotland
March 23, 2023
sport, physical, headgear, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, sport, news, newspapers, books, scholar, . For the physical headgear see Cap This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Cap sport news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message In sport a cap is a player s appearance in a game at international level The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football In the early days of football the concept of each team wearing a set of matching shirts had not been universally adopted so each side would distinguish itself from the other by wearing a specific sort of cap Various international honours caps An early illustration of the first international football match between Scotland and England in 1872 shows the Scottish players wearing cowls and the English wearing a variety of school caps The practice was first approved on 10 May 1886 for association football after a proposal made by N Lane Jackson founder of the Corinthians That all players taking part for England in future international matches be presented with a white silk cap with red rose embroidered on the front These to be termed International Caps 1 The act of awarding a cap is now international and is applied to other sports Although in some sports physical caps may not now always be given whether at all or for each appearance the term cap for an international or other appearance has been retained as an indicator of the number of occasions on which a sportsperson has represented a team in a particular sport Thus a cap is awarded for each game played and so a player who has played x games for the team is said to have been capped x times or have won x caps The practice of awarding a physical cap varies from sport to sport It may be awarded before a player s debut or particularly for national teams a commemorative cap may be awarded after a player reaches the 100th cap 2 3 Contents 1 Association football 1 1 Records 1 1 1 Men 1 1 2 Women 2 Cricket 2 1 Records 3 Rugby union 4 Rugby league 5 Netball 6 References 7 External linksAssociation football EditSome men s association football teams still award physical caps Players are awarded one cap for every match they play unless they play in a World Cup or European Championship finals tournament then they are given a single cap for the competition with the names of all their opponents stitched into the fabric of the cap itself For example when David Beckham made his one hundredth appearance for England because a number of his appearances had been at World Cup and European Championship final tournaments for which he could only receive one cap he received only his 85th physical cap 4 In Scotland for many years the practice was to present caps only for appearances in the British Home Championship meaning that several players never received one including those in their 1958 FIFA World Cup squad this anomaly was rectified retrospectively in the 2000s after pressure from players families 5 6 7 FIFA recognises certain international games as ones where a player can be awarded a cap these games are regarded as International A games These are matches in which both nations field their first Representative Team 8 Records Edit See also List of men s footballers with 100 or more international caps Progression of association football caps record and List of women s footballers with 100 or more international caps The world record holder for the highest number of international caps as of 5 November 2010 is retired American player Kristine Lilly who has 354 caps In men s association football the record belongs to Bader Al Mutawa of Kuwait he surpassed Ahmad Hassan with his 184th cap on 27 March 2012 The first footballer to win 100 international caps was Billy Wright of England s Wolverhampton Wanderers Wright went on to appear 105 times for England 90 of them he obtained whilst he was a captain Bold denotes players currently active in international football Men Edit As of 6 December 2022 9 failed verification Most caps in men s association football Rank Caps Name Country Career1 219 Soh Chin Ann Malaysia 1969 19842 196 Bader Al Mutawa Kuwait 2003 Present3 195 Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal 2003 Present4 184 Ahmed Hassan Egypt 1995 20125 180 Sergio Ramos 10 Spain 2005 2023Ahmed Mubarak Al Mahaijri Oman 2003 Present7 179 Andres Guardado Mexico 2005 Present8 177 Mohamed Al Deayea Saudi Arabia 1993 2006Claudio Suarez Mexico 1992 200610 176 Gianluigi Buffon Italy 1997 2018 Women Edit As of 15 November 2022Most caps in women s association football Rank Caps Name Country Career1 354 Kristine Lilly United States 1987 20102 319 Christine Sinclair Canada 2000 Present3 311 Christie Pearce United States 1997 20154 307 Carli Lloyd United States 2005 20215 276 Mia Hamm United States 1987 20046 274 Julie Foudy United States 1988 20047 255 Abby Wambach United States 2001 20158 241 Joy Fawcett United States 1987 20049 232 Caroline Seger Sweden 2005 Present10 231 Heather O Reilly United States 2002 2016Cricket EditSee also Cricket cap and List of Test cricket records Individual records other As in association football cricket still awards a physical cap Caps are awarded both at international and domestic level however the criteria for winning a cap differs between international and domestic cricket In international cricket a player is awarded a cap for every appearance made It is common for a player to be presented with their cap in a ceremony on the first morning of their maiden Test match although a physical cap may not be presented for every occasion on which a player represents his country International caps are numbered according to the number of players who have represented the country before For example cap number 50 is awarded to the fiftieth player to represent the country 1 In some domestic cricket competitions caps are also awarded However they are not awarded automatically for every appearance made but instead at the discretion of the administrators of the club for whom the recipient plays and are a one off recognition that the recipient is now a regular established player for the club The most prevalent example of this system is in English county cricket in which many First Class counties award a county cap to players As of April 2021 70 players have won 100 or more caps in Test cricket Records Edit Players still active at Test level are in bold type As of 9 April 2022 11 Most caps in men s test cricket Rank Caps Name Country Career1 200 Sachin Tendulkar India 1989 20132 178 James Anderson England 2003 20233 168 Ricky Ponting Australia 1995 2012Steve Waugh Australia 1985 20045 166 Jacques Kallis South Africa ICC World XI 1995 20136 164 Shivnarine Chanderpaul West Indies 1994 2015Rahul Dravid India ICC World XI 1996 20128 161 Alastair Cook England 2006 20189 156 Allan Border Australia 1978 199410 160 Stuart Broad England 2007 2023Notes For South Africa current cap numbers start from their readmission to Test cricket As of 9 April 2022 12 Most caps in men s one day international cricket Rank Caps Name Country Career1 463 Sachin Tendulkar India 1989 20122 448 Mahela Jayawardene Sri Lanka ACC Asia XI 1998 20153 445 Sanath Jayasuriya Sri Lanka ACC Asia XI 1989 20114 404 Kumar Sangakkara Sri Lanka ACC Asia XI ICC World XI 2000 20155 398 Shahid Afridi Pakistan ACC Asia XI ICC World XI 1996 20156 378 Inzamam ul Haq Pakistan ACC Asia XI 1991 20077 375 Ricky Ponting Australia ICC World XI 1995 20128 356 Wasim Akram Pakistan 1984 20039 350 MS Dhoni India ACC Asia XI 2004 2019Muttiah Muralitharan Sri Lanka ACC Asia XI ICC World XI 1993 2011Rugby union EditSee also List of rugby union Test caps leaders In rugby union 64 players have reached 100 international caps as of 27 Oct 2019 Players from England Scotland Wales and Ireland are eligible for selection to the British amp Irish Lions touring squad Lions matches are classed as full international tests and caps are awarded The Pacific Islanders team composed of players from Fiji Samoa Tonga Niue and Cook Islands have a similar arrangement although no players involved have so far reached 100 caps Fijian Nicky Little is closest with 71 caps Players still active at Test level are in bold type As of 8 June 2020 13 Most caps in men s rugby union Rank Caps Name Country Career1 166 Alun Wyn Jones Wales British amp Irish Lions 2006 2 148 Richie McCaw New Zealand 2001 20153 143 Sam Whitelock New Zealand 2010 4 142 Sergio Parisse Italy 2002 20195 141 Brian O Driscoll Ireland British amp Irish Lions 1999 20146 139 George Gregan Australia 1994 20077 134 Gethin Jenkins Wales British amp Irish Lions 2002 20168 132 Keven Mealamu New Zealand 2002 20159 130 Ronan O Gara Ireland British amp Irish Lions 2000 201310 129 Stephen Moore Australia 2005 201711 127 Victor Matfield South Africa 2001 2015Kieran Read New Zealand 2008 2019Rugby league EditThe International Rugby League honours players that have made 50 international appearances in their career with a special golden cap 14 The record for most caps is held by former Australian Kangaroos player and captain Darren Lockyer with 59 matches Players still active at Test level are in bold type As of 8 June 2020Most caps in men s rugby league Rank Caps Name Country Career1 59 Darren Lockyer Australia 1998 20112 56 Cameron Smith Australia 2006 20173 55 Ruben Wiki New Zealand 1994 20064 54 Jim Sullivan Wales Great Britain England 1921 19345 53 James Graham Great Britain England 2006 2019Adrian Morley Great Britain England 1996 20127 51 Adam Blair New Zealand 2006 2019Petero Civoniceva Australia Fiji 2001 20149 50 Mick Sullivan Great Britain England 1954 196210 47 Ryan Hall Great Britain England 2009 202211 46 Puig Aubert France 1946 1956Gary Freeman New Zealand 1986 1996Stacey Jones New Zealand 1995 2006Mal Meninga Australia 1982 1994Netball EditPhysical caps are not distributed by the International Netball Federation but the term is still widely used to signify appearances Irene van Dyk has won the most international caps having represented two nations after her switch to the Silver Ferns a move that was allowed as the INF rules only prohibited players from representing two nations in one calendar year Mary Waya is the only other woman to have earned over 200 caps in her thirty year career with exact numbers being difficult to confirm 15 Players still active at Test level are in bold type As of 7 July 2020Most caps in women s international netball Rank Caps Name Country Career1 217 Irene van Dyk South Africa 72 New Zealand 145 1994 20142 205 Mary Waya Malawi 1984 20143 176 Jade Clarke England 2002 4 159 Nadine Bryan Jamaica 1997 5 151 Laura Langman New Zealand 2003 20206 150 Maria Folau New Zealand 2005 20197 146 Geva Mentor England 2001 8 138 Leana de Bruin South Africa 34 New Zealand 104 1996 20169 137 Katrina Rore New Zealand 2008 10 127 Lesley MacDonald Scotland 1999 2014References Edit What does the term Cap mean in sport albionsports wordpress com 4 February 2014 Retrieved 13 January 2018 All Blacks century makers What it takes to crack 100 The New Zealand Herald 9 October 2015 Steven Gerrard memorabilia to be exhibited at Anfield Sky Sports 15 May 2015 Don t tell anyone but this is only Beckham s 85th cap Reuters Archived from the original on 30 March 2008 Retrieved 20 September 2018 Paul Weaver 21 November 2005 Tale of injustice that prompted a son to shine The Guardian Retrieved 12 April 2020 Eddie Turnbull Having a Ball Eddie Turnbull Martin Hannan Random House 2012 ISBN 9781780574684 Shades The Short Life and Tragic Death of Erich Schaedler Colin Leslie Black amp White Publishing 2013 ISBN 9781845027308 Regulations Governing International Matches PDF FIFA Retrieved 28 August 2020 FIFA Century Club PDF FIFA Retrieved 9 June 2020 Cortegana Mario Spain defender Sergio Ramos retires from international football The Athletic The Athletic Retrieved 24 February 2023 Individual Records stats espncricinfo com ESPN Cricinfo 8 June 2020 Retrieved 8 June 2020 One Day International Records ESPN Cricinfo Retrieved 4 August 2020 Player Records Total Matches Played ESPN Scum RLIF to award golden caps TotalRL com Total Rugby League 7 November 2018 Retrieved 11 June 2020 Mary Waya LinkedIn Slide Share 8 June 2015 Retrieved 8 July 2020 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sports honours caps Men s Records and Facts FIFA Players with 100 Caps men RSSSF Picture of International Football Cap National Museum of Scotland Gallery of International Caps and Honours Caps Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cap sport amp oldid 1144411101, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
