The 1963 CONCACAF Championship was the inaugural edition of the CONCACAF Championship, the top continental football tournament organized by CONCACAF for senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament was held between 23 March to 7 April. It had 9 participating teams.
The tournament was hosted by El Salvador in the cities of San Salvador and Santa Ana. The nine teams were broken up into one group of five and one group of four; the top two teams of each group would advance to a final group stage, playing in round-robin format to determine the winner. The tournament was won by Costa Rica, who defeated the hosts El Salvador, Netherlands Antilles and Honduras in the four-team final group.[1]
Qualifying round
Haiti  | 1–3 |  Netherlands Antilles |
|---|---|---|
Jamaica
| Netherlands Antilles | 1–0 | Haiti |
|---|---|---|
Jamaica
Netherlands Antilles qualifies to the tournament
Participating teams
Costa Rica
El Salvador (Hosts)
Guatemala
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico- Netherlands Antilles (Qualifying winners)
Nicaragua
Panama
Squads
Venues
| San Salvador | Santa Ana | |
|---|---|---|
| Estadio Nacional Flor Blanca | Estadio Santaneco | |
| Capacity: 35,000 | Capacity: 15,000 | |
|
|
Final round
First round
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Honduras
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 7 |
| 2 | El Salvador
|
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 5 |
| 3 | Panama
|
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 4 |
| 4 | Guatemala
|
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 4 |
| 5 | Nicaragua
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 15 | −13 | 0 |
Source: [2]
| Honduras | 1–0 | Nicaragua |
|---|---|---|
Rodríguez Reyes  31′ |
| El Salvador | 1–1 | Panama |
|---|---|---|
| Hernández 87′ |
Velasco  82’ (o.g.) |
| Panama | 5–0 | Nicaragua |
|---|---|---|
| Góyez 11′ Valderrama 41′Santamaría 45′, 58′Ponce 71′ |
| Honduras | 2–1 | Guatemala |
|---|---|---|
| Barahona 28′ Guerra 42′ |
López Contreras 9′ |
| El Salvador | 1–1 | Guatemala |
|---|---|---|
| Hernández 24′ |
Peña 28′ |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Costa Rica
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 5 |
| 2 | Netherlands Antilles
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 |
| 3 | Mexico
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 3 |
| 4 | Jamaica
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 16 | −15 | 0 |
Source: [2]
| Netherlands Antilles | 2–1 | Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Delanoy 12′ del Muro 80’ (o.g.) |
Ortiz Camargo 24′ |
Referee: José Isabel Morán (Panama)
| Mexico | 8–0 | Jamaica |
|---|---|---|
| Pereda 4′ Garrido 17′Ortiz Camargo 27′, 35’ (pen.)Cuenca 49′Díaz 77′, 88′Morales 80′ |
| Costa Rica | 1–0 | Netherlands Antilles |
|---|---|---|
| Cordero 38’ (pen.) |
Referee: Pedro da Cunha (Brazil)
| Costa Rica | 0–0 | Mexico |
|---|---|---|
Referee: Marco Tulio Cárcamo (Honduras)
| Netherlands Antilles | 2–1 | Jamaica |
|---|---|---|
| Briesen 8′ D. Pablo 73′ |
Dunkley 24′ |
Referee: Saúl de la Rosa (Colombia)
Final round
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Costa Rica
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 6 |
| 2 | El Salvador
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 4 |
| 3 | Netherlands Antilles
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 2 |
| 4 | Honduras
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 |
Source: [2]
| Netherlands Antilles | 4–1 | Honduras |
|---|---|---|
| Testing 2′ Sillie 21′Brandborg 75′, 89′ |
Suazo 32′ |
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Jorge Méndez Montes de Oca (Guatemala)
| El Salvador | 1–4 | Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|
| Chacón 49′ |
González 17′, 22′, 72′ Pearson 76′ |
| Costa Rica | 1–0 | Netherlands Antilles |
|---|---|---|
| Pearson 54′ |
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Jorge Méndez Montes de Oca (Guatemala)
| El Salvador | 3–0 | Honduras |
|---|---|---|
| Monge 10′ Hernández 13′, 34′ |
| Costa Rica | 2–1 | Honduras |
|---|---|---|
| Córdoba 52′ Jiménez 59′ |
Cruz 49′ |
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Jorge Méndez Montes de Oca (Guatemala)
| El Salvador | 3–2 | Netherlands Antilles |
|---|---|---|
| Hernández 14′, 80′ González 60′ |
Testing 7′ J.M. Pablo 78′ |
| 1963 CONCACAF Championship winners |
|---|
 Costa Rica First title |
Statistics
Goalscorers
There were 76 goals scored in 22 matches, for an average of 3.45 goals per match.
8 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
- Mario Cordero
- Enrique Córdoba
- Rubén Jiménez
- Luis Vázquez
- Armando Chacón
- Mauricio Ernesto González
- César Reynosa
- Alfredo Ruano
- Antony Ewing
- Haroldo Juárez
- Francisco López Contreras
- Hugo Peña
- Jorge Roldán
- Felipe Barahona
- Dolores Cruz
- Nilmo Edwards
- René Rodríguez Reyes
- Locelles Dinckley
- Fernando Cuenca
- Armando Garrido
- Albino Morales
- Vicente Pereda
Toribio Briesen- Ronald Delanoy
- Daniel Pablo
- Juan Maximiliano Pablo
- George Sillie
Armando Mendieta- Dámaso Silva
- Adolfo Díaz Gáez
- Luis Góyez
- Luis Carlos Ponce
- Carlos Valderrama
- Everardo Vega
1 own goal
- Benjamín Velasco (against Panama)
- Jesús del Muro (against Netherlands Antilles)
Team of the Tournament
Source:[3]
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asdrúbal Meneses
|
Benjamín Velasco Mario Cordero Juan Pablo Federico Budde
|
César Reynosa Ruben Brandborg Mario Monge
|
Juan Gonzalez Eduardo Hernández Guillermo Ortiz
|
References
- ^ “Ticos Capture First Title Under New Concacaf Confederation Banner”. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
- ^ a b c Ramos, José Ismael; Ellerbrock, Herbert Christian; Martell, Samuel; Calvo, Rodrigo; Coto, Gerardo; de Gracia, Adán; Mendoza, Eduardo; Paredes, Carlos; Mora Zeledón, Nectalí; Torres, Steven; Lugo, Erik Francisco (20 May 2021). “I Copa de Naciones CONCACAF 1963 (NORCECA) – Match Details”. RSSSF. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ “I COPA DE NACIONES CONCACAF 1963 (NORCECA) – Match Details”. www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 11 October 2023.