![]() | |||
Nickname(s) | The Forbiddens | ||
---|---|---|---|
Association | Tibetan National Football Association | ||
Confederation | CONIFA | ||
Head coach | Penpa Tsering | ||
Most caps | Tenzin Samdup BK Narayan (7) | ||
Top scorer | Tashi Samphel (5) | ||
| |||
First international | |||
Unofficial![]() ![]() (China; unknown date 1956) Official ![]() ![]() (Copenhagen, Denmark; 30 June 2001) | |||
Biggest win | |||
![]() ![]() (Marseille, France; 28 June 2013) | |||
Biggest defeat | |||
![]() ![]() (Marseille, France; 23 June 2013) | |||
CONIFA World Football Cup | |||
Appearances | 1 (first in 2018) | ||
Best result | 12th, 2018 |
![]() | This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (February 2011) |
The Tibet national football team is a football team that represents the cultural region of Tibet in non-FIFA international tournaments,[1] and is organised by the Tibetan National Football Association (TNFA), an organisation of exiled Tibetans.
Many of the players are in exile and are represented by the Tibetan Government in Exile. The team is part of neither FIFA nor the AFC and does not participate in international tournaments. The TNFA was founded in 2001 and its goal is to gain an official status.
The first international game against a non-Asian team was versus Greenland, which took place in Denmark.[citation needed] The team was followed by a documentary film crew during the process of forming the team, practicing, playing the match, and events in between. The documentary was titled 'The Forbidden Team'. To form the team, a selective tournament was held in Dehradun, India, featuring all the various Tibetan football teams around India.[citation needed]
After the team was selected, Team Tibet headed to Dharamsala to begin practice sessions. Jens Espense was hired by the Tibetan Football Association to coach the team for the match. He had only a month to get the players conditioned and ready to play, despite the team not yet playing at even a minor league level. Moreover, the pitch was in poor condition and only half of it could be used, as it was located on a public road. During practice, Karma Nyodup was working to complete all documentation for the flight to Greenland. A number of players were subsequently dropped due to improper travel documents.[citation needed]
After a month, the team flew to Denmark for their first international game, which was organised by Michael Nybrandt. He was also advocating Tibet at a time when the Chinese government had made it clear that they did not want this match to happen as they believed Tibet belonged to China. It threatened to cut off all its trade with Denmark if the match went ahead as planned. Denmark however, did not back down and allowed the game to take place. On 30 June 2001 the Tibetan National Football Team played its first international match where it lost 1– 4 against Greenland.[2]
The 2006 FIFI Wild Cup took place in Hamburg, Germany. The first match they played was against St. Pauli on 30 May 2006. They lost this game 7–0. The second and final match of Tibet in this tournament was against Gibraltar on 31 May 2006. They lost this game 5–0. During the ELF Cup Tibet did not win any games. The first game was against Tajikistan on 19 November 2006 where they lost 3–0. On 20 November, Tibet played the Crimean Tatars, which they lost 1–0. Finally, on 21 November the biggest loss came when Tibet played Northern Cyprus, who beat them 10–0.
From 22 to 29 June 2013, Tibet was invited to Marseille in France to participate in the first edition of the International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes.
The Tibetan team finished the competition in fifth place.
For the first time in its history, the Tibetan selection participated in the ConIFA World Football Cup in 2018 by qualifying with the wild card.[3]
The following players were called up to the squad for the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup in London.[4]
Head Coach: Penpa Tsering
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1GK | Tenzin Samdup | (1992-12-23) 23 December 1992 (age 29) | 7 | 0 | ![]() |
21 | 1GK | Sangye Gyatso | (1987-05-06) 6 May 1987 (age 35) | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
23 | 2DF | Dawa Tashi | (1987-04-16) 16 April 1987 (age 35) | 6 | 0 | Unattached |
3 | 2DF | Tenzin Bhakdo | (1996-08-05) 5 August 1996 (age 26) | 3 | 1 | ![]() |
5 | 2DF | Gelek Wangchuk | (1992-09-15) 15 September 1992 (age 30) | 3 | 0 | Unattached |
13 | 2DF | Tenzingh Dhondhen | (1994-12-13) 13 December 1994 (age 27) | 2 | 1 | Unattached |
15 | 2DF | Tenzin Gelek | (1989-05-10) 10 May 1989 (age 33) | 2 | 0 | Unattached |
8 | 2DF | Tenzin Dhondup | (1986-09-17) 17 September 1986 (age 36) | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
18 | 2DF | Tenzin Yougyal | (1993-08-12) 12 August 1993 (age 29) | 5 | 2 | ![]() |
19 | 2DF | Tenzin Choepak | (1996-01-07) 7 January 1996 (age 26) | 0 | 0 | Unattached |
6 | 3MF | BK Narayan | (1991-11-25) 25 November 1991 (age 30) | 7 | 0 | Unattached |
14 | 3MF | Karma Tsewang | (1988-01-10) 10 January 1988 (age 34) | 2 | 1 | Unattached |
4 | 3MF | Tenzin Loedup | (1991-12-21) 21 December 1991 (age 30) | 2 | 0 | Unattached |
2 | 3MF | Thupten Tsering | (1994-01-17) 17 January 1994 (age 28) | 0 | 0 | Unattached |
12 | 3MF | Kelsang Lungkara | (1995-05-09) 9 May 1995 (age 27) | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
17 | 3MF | Ruden Tshering Tashi Dorjee Bhutia | (1991-11-12) 12 November 1991 (age 30) | 0 | 0 | Unattached |
11 | 4FW | Kalsang Topgyal | (1996-12-24) 24 December 1996 (age 25) | 3 | 1 | ![]() |
7 | 4FW | Tsering Chomphel | (1991-11-18) 18 November 1991 (age 30) | 2 | 0 | Unattached |
9 | 4FW | Pema Lhundup | (1996-02-11) 11 February 1996 (age 26) | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
10 | 4FW | Tenzin Thardoe | (1998-03-15) 15 March 1998 (age 24) | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
22 | 4FW | Tenzin Tsering | (1995-11-16) 16 November 1995 (age 26) | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
20 | 4FW | Tashi Samphel | (1987-05-06) 6 May 1987 (age 35) | 1 | 5 | ![]() |
16 | 4FW | Tenzin Norbu Tekhang | (1996-06-13) 13 June 1996 (age 26) | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
Date | Venue | Opponent | Competition | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
28 June 2013 | ![]() | ![]() | International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes | 12–2 |
24 June 2013 | ![]() | ![]() | International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes | 0–22 |
23 June 2013 | ![]() | ![]() | International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes | 0–21 |
7 May 2008 | ![]() | ![]() | 2–13 | |
19 April 2008 | ![]() | ![]() | 1–1 | |
17 April 2008 | ![]() | ![]() | 0–5[permanent dead link] | |
2 November 2007 | ![]() | ![]() | 0–3 | |
31 October 2007 | ![]() | ![]() | 2–2 | |
4 August 2007 | ![]() | ![]() | 6–0[permanent dead link] | |
21 November 2006 | ![]() | ![]() | ELF Cup 2006 | 0–10 |
20 November 2006 | ![]() | ![]() | ELF Cup 2006 | 0–1 |
19 November 2006 | ![]() | ![]() | ELF Cup 2006 | 0–3 |
30 May 2006 | ![]() | ![]() | 2006 FIFI Wild Cup | 0–7 |
31 May 2006 | ![]() | ![]() | 2006 FIFI Wild Cup | 0–5 |
10 October 2003 | ![]() | ![]() | 1–2 | |
14 July 2001 | ![]() | ![]() | 1–2 | |
30 Jun 2001 | ![]() | ![]() | 1–4 |
Name | period |
---|---|
![]() |
2001–2017 |
![]() |
2017–In progress |
Non-FIFA and unaffiliated football teams competing internationally | |||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N.F.-Board · Viva World Cup · FIFI Wild Cup · ELF Cup · KTFF 50th Anniversary Cup · ConIFA World Football Cup · ConIFA European Football Cup · Red Sport International · UEFA Regions' Cup · COSANFF | |||||||||||||||||||||||
ConiFA |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Sovereign states |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Non-sovereign |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Island Games |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
Defunct | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Languages |
|
Confederation of Independent Football Associations members | |
---|---|
Africa |
|
Americas | |
Asia |
|
Europe |
|
Oceania |