Cuba 1962 Castro Retro Football Shirt

Football was a lowly consideration for the new Communist regime following the revolutionary years of the 1950s. The national team had been more internationalist in its outlook during the Batista era, but by the early 1960s games were rare under Castro and when they were played tended to be friendlies, mostly lost, against neighbouring states.

While a couple of 1962 friendlies were played a few days apart against Puerto Rico and Jamaica, the Missile Crisis a few months later pushed football further into the shadows. The self-imposed isolation lasted until 1965 when Cuba came in from the cold and participated in qualifiers for the 1966 World Cup.