Day 19 – Captains

Topic Point: A team will have one captain, and 1-2 assistant captains. They leadthe team during training and other team activities.

For matches, the captain is designated byan armband and must be on the field. The appointed leadership group orassistant captains will maintain in-game continuity if the captain must leavethe game (due to normal substitution, injury substitution, or red card).Technically, all communication with the officials must go through the captain.

Ted Lasso: InS1E10, Roy points out to Ted that he needs to assign a new captain because thecaptain must be on the pitch. Through the course of the final match of theseason, we see Roy appoint Isaac as the captain, and then when Roy issubstituted in for the second half, he takes the armband from Isaac. When he isinjured and must leave the game, the armband goes back to Isaac. The storyhighlights the nature of captaincy and the rule of designating the captain thatis on the pitch (though generally the assistant captain likely would have beenknown and established throughout the season thereby eliminating the humorousdialogue that occurred between Ted and Roy).

We see the captain armband switch again S3E9when Isaac is issued a red card and he hands the armband to Sam Obisanya. Wealso see a comical scene where two leaders, Jaime and Sam, question who shouldhave the armband in Isaac’s absence.

Soccer-related note: Prior to implementing officials, captains used to resolve disputes(hence the reason the captain must be on the pitch).

The captain in soccer has historically beena ceremonial process for a match. Captains would meet with the match officialsbefore the game, exchange team pennants, and conduct the coin toss to determinethe first half kickoff and select sides. The exchange is typically done forinternational matches (national team or club) as well as tournaments or otherhigh-level competitions.

American Sports comparison: Most sports teams will designate a leadership group with one captainand several assistant captains. They are usually noted with a ‘C’ or an ‘A’ forcaptain and assistant captain respectively. Aside from the coin toss, theseplayers are leaders on and off the field and often interviewed by the press. Inice hockey, technically the captain or the assistant captain (whoever is on theice at the time), is the designated person to communicate with officials.However, the captain is not required to be on the playing surface (field,court, ice) at all times in these other sports. This is likely due to thefreedom in substitution.

‍Interactive:

The link below is the most up-to-date list of national team captains for the 2026 World Cup. Also included is the Wikipedia link to all the teams’ rosters, which designate the captain. There can be some adjustment because as noted, the captain must be on the pitch. Tim Ream, the oldest USMNT player, was named captain of the squad. If Ream is not playing, another player (most likely Christian Pulisic) will serve as captain on the field.

https://www.transfermarkt.us/world-cup/mannschaftskapitaene/pokalwettbewerb/FIWC#google_vignette

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_FIFA_World_Cup_squads

Below are two pictures taken of captains exchanging pennants and engaging in the coin toss. First there are two legends, Johan Cruyff of the Netherlands and Franz Beckenbauer of West Germany. Notice that Cruyff’s jersey has two stripes. The Netherlands were sponsored by Adidas but Cruyff had an agreement with Puma. Therefore, Cruyff’s shirt had only two stripes instead of Adidas’ traditional three stripes.

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Next is an article from FourFourTwo.com published just prior to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar explaining the ceremonial exchange. Included is a picture of the French captain, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, and the Croatia captain, midfielder Luka Modrić. Modrić will captain Croatia again in 2026. Lloris played for France from 2008-2022 and is now only playing club soccer in MLS.

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