Recognition earned by a player for each appearance in an international game for their country. In the "old" days (e.g., 1900), when a team would go (i.e., sail) to another country to play, the hosting team would give each member of the visiting team a brimmed hat as a symbol of goodwill. Today, caps are not exchanged, but the term "cap" continues to represent games against foreign teams, where you represent your country. There are no formal rules that say you must be playing on foreign soil when you represent your country or that you must be a member of the country's national team in order to get "capped". When used with youth teams, a cap is loosely interpreted as a game against a team from another country, regardless of the game location.

This definition is in context to Soccer. See more contextual defintions for Cap(s).