Insport, acap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in theUnited Kingdom of awarding acap to every player in an international match ofrugby football andassociation football. In the early days of football, the concept of each team wearing a set of matching shirts had not been universally adopted, so each side would distinguish itself from the other by wearing a specific sort of cap.
An early illustration of thefirst international football match between Scotland and England in 1872 shows the Scottish players wearingcowls, and the English wearing a variety of school caps. The practice was first approved on 10 May 1886 for association football after a proposal made byN. Lane Jackson, founder of theCorinthians:
That all players taking part for England in future international matches be presented with a white silk cap with red rose embroidered on the front. These to be termedInternational Caps.[1][2]
The act of awarding a cap is now international and is applied to other sports. Although in some sports physical caps may not now always be given (whether at all or for each appearance) the termcap for an international or other appearance has been retained as an indicator of the number of occasions on which a sportsperson has represented a team in a particular sport. Thus, a "cap" is awarded for each game played and so a player who has playedx games for the team is said to have beencapped x times or have wonx caps.
The practice of awarding a physical cap varies from sport to sport. It may be awarded before a player's debut or, particularly for national teams, a commemorative cap may be awarded after a player reaches the 100th cap.[3][4]
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, whenDavid 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.[5][6] In Scotland, for many years the practice was to present caps only for appearances in theBritish Home Championship, meaning that several players never received one (including those in their1958 FIFA World Cup squad); this anomaly was rectified retrospectively in the 2000s after pressure from players' families.[7][8][9]
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.[10]
The world record holder for the highest number of international caps as of 5 November 2010 is retiredAmerican playerKristine Lilly, who has 354 caps.Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal holds the most caps among men only; he surpassedBader 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 wasBilly Wright of England'sWolverhampton 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[edit]
| Women[edit]
|
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 maidenTest 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.[1]
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 Englishcounty cricket, in which manyFirst Class counties award a "county cap" to players.
As of April 2021, 70 players have won 100 or more caps in Test cricket.[citation needed]
Players still active at Test level are inbold type.
Inrugby union, 92 players have reached 100 international caps as of 27 October 2023. Players fromEngland,Scotland,Wales andIreland are eligible for selection to theBritish & Irish Lions touring squad. Lions matches are classed as full international tests, and caps are awarded. ThePacific Islanders team, composed of players fromFiji,Samoa,Tonga,Niue andCook Islands have a similar arrangement, although no players involved have so far reached 100 caps (FijianNicky Little is closest with 71 caps).
Players still active at Test level are inbold type.
| Rank | Caps | Name | Country | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 171 | Alun Wyn Jones |  Wales British & Irish Lions | 2006–2023 |
| 2 | 153 | Sam Whitelock |  New Zealand | 2010–2023 |
| 3 | 148 | Richie McCaw | New Zealand | 2001–2015 |
| 4 | 145 | James Slipper |  Australia | 2010–present |
| 5 | 142 | Sergio Parisse |  Italy | 2002–2019 |
| 6 | 141 | Brian O'Driscoll |  IrelandBritish & Irish Lions | 1999–2014 |
| 7 | 139 | George Gregan | Australia | 1994–2007 |
| 8 | 137 | Cian Healy | Ireland | 2009–2025 |
| 9 | 136 | Beauden Barrett | New Zealand | 2012-present |
| 10 | 134 | Gethin Jenkins | WalesBritish & Irish Lions | 2002–2018 |
TheInternational Rugby League honours players that have made 50 international appearances in their career with a special golden cap.[16] The record for most caps is held by formerAustralian Kangaroos player and captainDarren Lockyer with 59 matches.
Players still active at Test level are inbold type.
| Rank | Caps | Name | Country | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 59 | Darren Lockyer | Australia | 1998–2011 |
| 2 | 56 | Cameron Smith | Australia | 2006–2017 |
| 3 | 55 | Ruben Wiki | New Zealand | 1994–2006 |
| 4 | 54 | Jim Sullivan |  Wales Great Britain England | 1921–1934 |
| 5 | 53 | James Graham | Great BritainEngland | 2006–2019 |
| Adrian Morley | Great BritainEngland | 1996–2012 | ||
| 7 | 51 | Adam Blair | New Zealand | 2006–2019 |
| Petero Civoniceva | Australia Fiji | 2001–2014 | ||
| 9 | 50 | Mick Sullivan | Great BritainEngland | 1954–1962 |
| 10 | 47 | Ryan Hall | Great BritainEngland | 2009–2022 |
| Rank | Caps | Name | Country | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 217 | Irene van Dyk[17][18] |  South Africa (72) New Zealand (145) | 1994–2014 |
| 2 | 214 | Jade Clarke[19] | England | 2002–2023 |
| 3 | 200+ | Mary Waya[20] |  Malawi | 1984–2014 |
| 4 | 175 | Geva Mentor[21] | England | 2001–2023 |
| 5 | 171 | Bongiwe Msomi[22] | South Africa | 2011–2023 |
| 6 | 165 | Laura Langman[23] | New Zealand | 2003–2020 |
| 7 | 159 | Nadine Bryan |  Jamaica | 1997–2014 |
| 8 | 150 | Maria Folau[24] | New Zealand | 2005–2019 |
| 9 | 138 | Leana de Bruin[25] | South Africa (34) New Zealand (104) | 1996–2016 |
| 10 | 137 | Katrina Rore[26] | New Zealand | 2008–2022 |
