Aruba | Bonaire | Curaçao | Sint Eustatius | Sint Maarten
On 20 December 1941, the federations of Aruba and Curaçao
formed the N.A.V.B. (Nederlands Antilliaanse Voetbal Bond) which
made two attempts to organise a match between the champions of
both islands to determine the champions of the Dutch Antilles:
on 24 May 1942 between S.U.B.T. and R.C.A. and on 29 July 1944 between
Jong Holland and Hollandia. The first attempt failed when S.U.B.T.
withdrew due to a conflict with the C.V.B. (instead Curaçao
runners-up Jong Holland played and defeated R.C.A.), the second when
Jong Holland withdrew, also due to a conflict with the C.V.B. (instead
representative teams of
Curaçao and Aruba
played each other; Jong Holland had beaten Hollandia 3-0 two weeks earlier,
on 16 July on the occasion of the silver jubilee of the club).
An unofficial attempt in 1941 (before the official foundation of the
N.A.V.B.) had been more successful, with Curaçao champions Jong
Holland defeating their Aruban counterparts R.C.A. 5-2 on 16 March 1941
to claim a trophy offered by Ed. H. Raghunath. In 1943, between the
two attempts by the N.A.V.B., Curaçao champions Independiente
and runners-up S.U.B.T. both played Aruban champions R.C.A. in the Easter
weekend, but these matches, organised by the C.V.B., were not official
either. On 25 April 1943, R.C.A. beat Independiente 4-1.
The N.A.V.B. also organised a 4-nations tournament in
Willemstad in April 1944
involving both Aruba and Curaçao as well as Haiti and Venezuela.
At its foundation, the F.I.F.A. membership of the C.V.B. (dating back
to 1932) was transferred to the N.A.V.B. However, after the end of
World War II this transfer was rejected by the F.I.F.A., upon which
the N.A.V.B. was dissolved in 1946 and F.I.F.A. membership returned
to the C.V.B. In the same year, the A.V.B. unsuccessfully applied for
F.I.F.A. membership (eventually, Aruba would join F.I.F.A. in 1988,
after having been granted a status aparte within the Kingdom of
the Netherlands in 1986).
In 1956 a request by the C.V.B. to the A.V.B. to organise an
Antillian championship in Oranjestad failed due to disagreements
on dates. Eventually, after discussions dating back to 1954, the
N.A.V.U. (Nederlands Antilliaanse Voetbal Unie) was founded on
5 September 1958 by the A.V.B. and C.V.B. In 1960, it organised a
playoff for the championship of the Dutch Antilles between the top-2
clubs of Curaçao and Aruba playing a double round robin in
three weeks. The first ten editions of the N.A.V.U. championship
(the Kopa Antiano, also occurring in many alternative spellings
with Kopa spelled Copa and Antiano as Antijano, Antillano, Antilliano
or Antiyano, with occasional appearances of the feminine form of the
adjective, in contemporary newspapers), from 1960 up to and
including 1970 were all held in the same format.
The B.V.B. joined the N.A.V.U. on 4 August 1963, and after several
earlier requests the Bonaire champions (but not the runners-up)
were admitted to the 1972 edition (the Bonaire runners-up were
not admitted until the 1977/78 edition). The Aruban clubs ceased to enter
after the island obtained the status aparte in 1986. Due to
an administrative reorganisation of the islands, which led to the
F.F.K. (Federashon Futbol Korsou, the Papiamentu translation of
C.V.B.) obtaining F.I.F.A. membership instead of the defunct
N.A.V.U., the tournament involving the top-2 of Bonaire and
Curaçao was discontinued after the 2010 edition. In fact,
three of the last eight editions held had only included two clubs
from Curaçao anyway, as Bonaire failed to have its
championship finished in time.
In 2018, the tournament was revived as Kopa ABC, a knock-out competition between the champions and runners-up of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
Note that the federations on the Bovenwindse Eilanden Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten never joined the N.A.V.U. (no organised football was ever played on Saba during this era; in fact, the island had no football field until 2011). The N.A.V.U. was always restricted to the three Benedenwindse Eilanden Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
Season Champions Runners-Up
C.V.B.
1941 Jong Holland (Willemstad) 5-2 R.C.A. (Oranjestad) [Aruba] [0]
N.A.V.B.
1942 Jong Holland (Willemstad) 4-3 R.C.A. (Oranjestad) [Aruba] [1]
1944 cancelled
N.A.V.U.
1960 Jong Holland (Willemstad) S.U.B.T. (Willemstad)
1961 Sithoc (Mahuma) R.C.A. (Oranjestad) [Aruba]
1962 Sithoc (Mahuma) Dakota (Oranjestad) [Aruba]
1963 Veendam not determined
1964 not held
1965 R.C.A. (Oranjestad) [Aruba] Jong Holland (Willemstad)
1966 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí) Veendam
1967 Scherpenheuvel Jong Colombia (Boca Samí)
1968 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí) Estrella (Santa Cruz) [Aruba]
1969 S.U.B.T. (Willemstad) Estrella (Santa Cruz) [Aruba]
1970 Estrella (Santa Cruz) [Aruba] Dakota (Oranjestad) [Aruba]
1971 not held
1972 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí) S.U.B.T. (Willemstad)
1973 not held
1974 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí) Real (Rincon) [Bonaire]
1975/76 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí) S.U.B.T. (Willemstad) [2]
1976/77 Jong Holland (Willemstad) Jong Colombia (Boca Samí) [3]
1977/78 Jong Holland (Willemstad) 1-0 2-2 R.C.A. (Oranjestad) [Aruba]
1978/79 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí) 0-1 2-0 Jong Holland (Willemstad)
1979/80 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí) 1-0 0-0 S.U.B.T. (Willemstad)
1980/81 S.U.B.T. (Willemstad) 1-1 6-3 Sithoc (Mahuma)
1981/82 Jong Holland (Willemstad) 1-1 4-1 S.U.B.T. (Willemstad)
1982/83 S.U.B.T. (Willemstad) 2-1 2-1 Dakota (Oranjestad) [Aruba]
1983 S.U.B.T. (Willemstad) 6-2 1-0 Victory Boys (Zapateer)
1984 S.U.B.T. (Willemstad) Jong Holland (Willemstad)
1985 Undeba (Banda Abou) 2-1 3-2 Juventus (Antriol) [Bonaire]
1986 Victory Boys (Zapateer) 1-0 0-0 Sithoc (Mahuma)
1987 Undeba (Banda Abou) 1-1 2-2 2-0 Centro Dominguito
1988/89 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí) 4-2 3-2 Juventus (Antriol) [Bonaire]
1989/90 Undeba (Banda Abou) 1-0 1-0 Sithoc (Mahuma) [*]
1990/91 Sithoc (Mahuma) S.U.B.T. (Willemstad) [*]
1991 Sithoc (Mahuma) 2-1 0-1 2-0 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí)
1992 Sithoc (Mahuma) 1-1 2-1 Juventus (Antriol) [Bonaire] [2nd leg aet]
1993 Sithoc (Mahuma) 3-0 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí)
1994 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí) 2-1 Sithoc (Mahuma)
1995/96 Sithoc (Mahuma) 1-0 Centro Dominguito
1996/97 Undeba (Banda Abou) 1-1 2-0 Real Rincon (Rincon) [Bonaire]
1997 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí) 2-1 Undeba (Banda Abou) [asdet]
1998 not held
1998/99 Sithoc (Mahuma) 0-0 Jong Holland (Willemstad) [asdet, 3-2 pen]
2000 not held
2000/01 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí) 3-0 Juventus (Antriol) [Bonaire]
2001/02 Centro Barber 1-0 S.U.B.T. (Willemstad) [aet]
2002/03 Centro Barber 2-1 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí) [*]
2003/04 Centro Barber 2-0 Victory Boys (Zapateer)
2004/05 Centro Barber 2-1 Victory Boys (Zapateer)
2005/06 Centro Barber 2-1 Undeba (Banda Abou) [*]
2006/07 Centro Barber 4-2 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí)
2007/08 Centro Barber 1-0 Juventus (Antriol) [Bonaire]
2009 Hubentut Fortuna (Seru Fortuna) 4-2 Centro Barber [*]
2009/10 Centro Barber 2-0 Real (Rincon) [Bonaire]
NB: all clubs from Curaçao unless indicated otherwise
[0] unofficial edition, in which the two island champions played for a trophy
offered by Ed. H. Raghunath in a match organised by the C.V.B.
[1] Jong Holland (runners-up of Curaçao) replaced champions S.U.B.T.
who withdrew due to a conflict with the C.V.B.
[2] both participants from Aruba (Dakota and Estrella) withdrew from the
tournament on 2 December 1975, leaving only S.U.B.T., Jong Colombia and
Estrellas (Bonaire) as participants.
[3] during the 1976/77 tournament, four of the five participants withdrew in
protest to various aspects of the organisation: first both Aruba entrants
(Dakota and Estrella), then Bonaire champions Juventus, and finally Jong
Colombia, giving Jong Holland the title in spite of having lost three of
the four matches they played.
[*] the 1989/90, 1990/91, 2002/03, 2005/06 and 2009 editions had no entrants
from Bonaire; thus, the eventual champions and runners-up, both from
Curaçao, were the only entrants.
Number of Wins (47)
N.B.: includes N.A.V.B. title 1942 for Jong Holland, but not the 1941 unofficial edition.
11 Jong Colombia (Boca Samí) [Curaçao]
8 Centro Barber [Curaçao]
Sithoc (Mahuma) [Curaçao]
5 Jong Holland (Willemstad) [Curaçao]
S.U.B.T. (Willemstad) [Curaçao]
4 Undeba (Banda Abou) [Curaçao]
1 Scherpenheuvel [Curaçao]
Estrella (Santa Cruz) [Aruba]
Hubentut Fortuna (Seru Fortuna) [Curaçao]
R.C.A. (Oranjestad) [Aruba]
Veendam [Curaçao]
Victory Boys (Zapateer) [Curaçao]
Main sources (for data before 1985): Amigoe di Curaçao (available through Delpher (formerly site of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek)), [Mar 08]
Prepared and maintained by Hans Schöggl, Karel Stokkermans and Piet Veroeveren for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Authors: Hans Schöggl, Karel Stokkermans and
Piet Veroeveren
Last updated: 5 Feb 2025
(C) Copyright Hans Schöggl, Karel Stokkermans,
Piet Veroeveren and RSSSF 2000/25
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper
acknowledgement is given to the authors. All rights reserved.