2023 Caribbean Cup on The Rise: Shaquille Cairo of Robinhood

MIAMI, Florida – There is just something about the bright lights of Concacaf club competitions that bring out the very best in Shaquille Cairo.

The striker, who just turned 22-years-old on October 16, has played a massive role in Surinamese club Robinhood’s 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup campaign in which the team captured the top spot in Group B to earn a place in the semifinals and come within one victory of qualifying for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup.

For his exploits, Cairo has been named the On the Rise player for the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup Group Stage.

“It means everything for me. I’m really happy,” said Cairo in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com after learning that he was named the On The Rise player for the Caribbean Cup group stage. “Hearing about this, I am going to do my best and work harder to keep growing,” added Cairo.

Cairo is the second-leading scorer in the tournament with five goals, having scored in each of Robinhood’s four matches in the tournament.

Finding the back of the net with regularity in Concacaf tournaments is nothing new to Cairo, however. The Suriname National Team player finished as the Top Scorer in the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Club Shield with 10 goals, scoring in each of Robinhood’s five matches in the tournament, including a brace in the Final.

“It’s a great honor for me, but that is who I am. I need to keep scoring for my team to win. I’m proud of myself, but I know I need to go higher and do better. I am working on growing as a player so that I can reach the top,” said Cairo.

One can even go back four years ago to 2019 to find a time when Cairo was scoring goals in Concacaf. At the tender age of 17, Cairo scored for Robinhood in the first leg 1-1 draw in the 2019 Concacaf League Round of 16 against Independiente of Panama.

Now, Cairo and Robinhood will turn their attention to their Caribbean Cup semifinal with Moca of the Dominican Republic. Winning that series would give Robinhood the distinction of winning the Caribbean Club Shield and then later qualifying for the Champions Cup, a rarity in the region.

Being able to compete at such a high level in Concacaf and contribute to his team has meant the world to Cairo.

“Doing well in this Caribbean Cup means everything to us, to keep playing and keep achieving big things. We are doing our best to try to keep doing things at a high level, so it means everything for us,” concluded Cairo.