Cap-tied is an adjective, used primarily in association football, to describe a player who has represented a national football team in a competitive game and as a result is unable to represent another FIFA-affiliated national team. The term is a play on "cup-tied", which refers to a player who is not eligible to appear in a cup competition for a new team after having appeared for another team earlier in the season. There are several ways that a player can become 'cap-tied' to a national team. A player is 'cap-tied' once they have played in an official competition for the senior national team.