Overview
As an overseas department of the French Republic, Martinique is not a member of FIFA and is therefore not eligible to enter the FIFA World Cup or any competition organized first-hand by the organization. Martiniquais, being French citizens, are eligible to play for the France national football team. Martinique is, however, a member of CONCACAF and CFU and is eligible for all competitions organized by both organizations. Indeed, according to the status of the FFF (article 34, paragraph 6): "Under the control of related continental confederations, and with the agreement of the FFF, those leagues can organize international sport events at a regional level or set up teams in order to participate to them." A special rule of the CONCACAF Gold Cup only allows players to join the team if they have not played for France during the past five years. On the other side, any player joining Martinique is allowed to join the France national team after-wards without any time restrictions.
Martinique's highest honor to date was winning the Caribbean Cup in 1993. Martinique also was a two-time winner of the CFU Championship, a precursor to the Caribbean Cup. A more recent success was winning the 2010 Coupe de l'Outre-Mer. The team defeated Réunion 5–3 on penalties to claim the title. The national team has participated in three CONCACAF Gold Cups and its best finish in the competition was in 2002 when the team reached the quarterfinals where they lost to Canada 6–5 on penalties.
Read more about this topic: Martinique National Football Team