The Cuba national football team represents the Republic of Cuba, a Caribbean island nation that has competed in international football for much of the twentieth century. Cuba made its most celebrated mark on the global stage at the 1938 FIFA World Cup in France, becoming one of the few Caribbean nations to reach the quarterfinal stage of the tournament — a historic achievement that remains the high point of Cuban football at the senior international level.
Cuban football developed within the broader context of the country's turbulent political history. The 1959 revolution and the subsequent alignment with the Soviet bloc shaped the sporting infrastructure of the nation, with the state taking an active role in organising and developing athletics and football. The Campeonato Nacional, Cuba's domestic league, has served as the proving ground for players who go on to represent the national side, with clubs such as FC Santiago de Cuba — winners of the national title in 2017, 2018, and 2019 — producing competitive talent.
Geographically isolated by decades of economic embargo and limited access to international competition, Cuba has historically faced structural challenges in developing its footballing programme at a level comparable to larger footballing nations. The team competes within CONCACAF, the confederation covering North and Central America and the Caribbean, where qualification for major tournaments has proved elusive in recent decades.
Cuban football carries a distinct identity shaped by resilience and national pride, representing a country that has navigated extraordinary political and economic pressures throughout its modern history.