Cap (sport)

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. 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.

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.

Records

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. Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal holds the most caps among men only; 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.

Men

Women

Cricket

As in association football, cricket still awards a physical cap. Caps are awarded both at international and domestic level, however the criterion 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.

|- | 1 || 200 || Sachin Tendulkar || India || 1989–2013 |- | 2 ||188 || James Anderson || England || 2003–2024

|- | 1 || 463 || Sachin Tendulkar || India || 1989–2012 |- | 2 || 448 || Mahela Jayawardene || Sri Lanka ACC Asia XI || 1998–2015 |- | 3 || 445 || Sanath Jayasuriya || Sri Lanka ACC Asia XI || 1989–2011 |- | 4 || 404 || Kumar Sangakkara || Sri Lanka ACC Asia XI ICC World XI || 2000–2015 |- | 5 || 398 || Shahid Afridi || Pakistan ACC Asia XI ICC World XI || 1996–2015 |- | 6 || 378 || Inzamam-ul-Haq || Pakistan ACC Asia XI || 1991–2007 |- | 7 || 375 || Ricky Ponting || Australia ICC World XI || 1995–2012 |- | 8 || 356 || Wasim Akram || Pakistan || 1984–2003 |- ACC Asia XI || 2004–2019 |- | Muttiah Muralitharan || Sri Lanka ACC Asia XI ICC World XI|| 1993–2011 |}

Rugby union

In rugby union, 92 players have reached 100 international caps as of 27 October 2023. 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. |- | 1 || 171 || Alun Wyn Jones ||
British & Irish Lions || 2006–2023 |- | 2 || 153 || Sam Whitelock || || 2010–2023 |- | 3 || 148 || Richie McCaw || || 2001–2015 |- | 4 || 145 || James Slipper || || 2010–present |- | 5 || 142 || Sergio Parisse || || 2002–2019 |- | 6 || 141 || Brian O'Driscoll ||
British & Irish Lions || 1999–2014 |- | 7 || 139 || George Gregan || || 1994–2007 |- | 8 || 137 || Cian Healy || || 2009–2025 |- | 9 || 136 || Beauden Barrett || || 2012-present |- | 10 || 134 || Gethin Jenkins ||
British & Irish Lions || 2002–2018 |- |}

Rugby league

The International Rugby League honours players that have made 50 international appearances in their career with a special golden cap. 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.

Netball

References

References

1. (4 February 2014). "What does the term 'Cap' mean in sport?". albionsports.wordpress.com.
2. "England's Caps".
3. (9 October 2015). "All Blacks century-makers: What it takes to crack 100". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
4. (15 May 2015). "Steven Gerrard memorabilia to be exhibited at Anfield". [[Sky Sports]].
5. "Don't tell anyone, but this is only Beckham's 85th cap". [[Reuters]].
6. "Jiuyou".
7. Paul Weaver. (21 November 2005). "Tale of injustice that prompted a son to shine". [[The Guardian]].
8. link. (24 March 2023 , Eddie Turnbull, Martin Hannan; Random House, 2012, {{ISBN). 9781780574684
9. link. (24 March 2023 , Colin Leslie; Black & White Publishing, 2013, {{ISBN). 9781845027308
10. "Regulations Governing International Matches". FIFA.
11. "FIFA Century Club". FIFA.
12. (23 February 2023). "Spain defender Sergio Ramos retires from international football". The New York Times.
13. (8 June 2020). "Individual Records". ESPN Cricinfo.
14. "One-Day International Records".
15. "Player Records – Total Matches Played".
16. (7 November 2018). "RLIF to award 'golden caps'". Total Rugby League.