Cap (sport)

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.

For the physical headgear, see 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][2]

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.[3][4]

Association football

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.[5] 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.[6][7][8]

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.[9]

Records
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 Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal; he surpassed Bader Al-Mutawa with his 197th cap on 23 March 2023, before extending his record to 198 caps on 26 March 2023. 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.

Cricket
See 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.

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.

Rugby union
See 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 & 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[14]
Most caps in men's rugby union
Rank Caps Name Country Career
1166Alun Wyn Jones Wales
 British & Irish Lions		2006–
2151Sam Whitelock New Zealand2010-
3148Richie McCaw New Zealand2001–2015
4142Sergio Parisse Italy2002–2019
5141Brian O'Driscoll Ireland
 British & Irish Lions		1999–2014
6139George Gregan Australia1994–2007
7134Gethin Jenkins Wales
 British & Irish Lions		2002–2016
8132Keven Mealamu New Zealand2002–2015
9130Ronan O'Gara Ireland
 British & Irish Lions		2000–2013
10129Stephen Moore Australia2005–2017
11127Victor Matfield South Africa2001–2015
Kieran Read New Zealand2008–2019

Rugby league

The International Rugby League honours players that have made 50 international appearances in their career with a special golden cap.[15] 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 2020
Most caps in men's rugby league
Rank Caps Name Country Career
159Darren LockyerAustralia Australia1998–2011
256Cameron SmithAustralia Australia2006–2017
355Ruben WikiNew Zealand New Zealand1994–2006
454Jim SullivanWales Wales
United Kingdom Great Britain
England England		1921–1934
553James GrahamUnited Kingdom Great Britain
England England		2006–2019
Adrian MorleyUnited Kingdom Great Britain
England England		1996–2012
751Adam BlairNew Zealand New Zealand2006–2019
Petero CivonicevaAustralia Australia
Fiji Fiji		2001–2014
950Mick SullivanUnited Kingdom Great Britain
England England		1954–1962
1047Ryan HallUnited Kingdom Great Britain
England England		2009-2022
1146Puig AubertFrance France1946–1956
Gary FreemanNew Zealand New Zealand1986–1996
Stacey JonesNew Zealand New Zealand1995–2006
Mal MeningaAustralia Australia1982–1994

Netball

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.[16]

Players still active at Test level are in bold type.

As of 7 July 2020
Most caps in women's international netball
Rank Caps Name Country Career
1217Irene van DykSouth Africa South Africa (72)
New Zealand New Zealand (145)		1994–2014
2205Mary WayaMalawi Malawi1984–2014
3176Jade ClarkeEngland England2002–
4159Nadine BryanJamaica Jamaica1997–
5151Laura LangmanNew Zealand New Zealand2003–2020
6150Maria FolauNew Zealand New Zealand2005–2019
7146Geva MentorEngland England2001–
8138Leana de BruinSouth Africa South Africa (34)
New Zealand New Zealand (104)		1996–2016
9137Katrina RoreNew Zealand New Zealand2008–
10127Lesley MacDonaldScotland Scotland1999–2014

References
  1. "What does the term 'Cap' mean in sport?". albionsports.wordpress.com. 4 February 2014. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  2. "England's Caps". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  3. "All Blacks century-makers: What it takes to crack 100". The New Zealand Herald. 9 October 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  4. "Steven Gerrard memorabilia to be exhibited at Anfield". Sky Sports. 15 May 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  5. "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.
  6. Paul Weaver (21 November 2005). "Tale of injustice that prompted a son to shine". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  7. Eddie Turnbull: Having a Ball Archived 24 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Eddie Turnbull, Martin Hannan; Random House, 2012, ISBN 9781780574684
  8. Shades: The Short Life and Tragic Death of Erich Schaedler Archived 24 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Colin Leslie; Black & White Publishing, 2013, ISBN 9781845027308
  9. "Regulations Governing International Matches" (PDF). FIFA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  10. "FIFA Century Club" (PDF). FIFA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  11. Cortegana, Mario. "Spain defender Sergio Ramos retires from international football". The Athletic. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  12. "Individual Records". stats.espncricinfo.com. ESPN Cricinfo. 8 June 2020. Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  13. "One-Day International Records". ESPN Cricinfo. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  14. "Player Records – Total Matches Played". ESPN Scum. Archived from the original on 20 May 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  15. "RLIF to award 'golden caps'". TotalRL.com. Total Rugby League. 7 November 2018. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  16. "Mary Waya". LinkedIn Slide Share. 8 June 2015. Archived from the original on 3 May 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
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