Tibet national football team

Last updated

Tibet
Flag of Tibet.svg
Nickname(s) The Forbiddens
Association Tibetan National Football Association
Confederation CONIFA
Head coachGompo Dorjee
Most caps Tenzin Samdup
BK Narayan (9)
Top scorer Tashi Samphel (5)
Kit left arm tib18h.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body tib18h.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm tib18h.png
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
First colours
Kit left arm tib18a.png
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body tib18a.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm.svg
Kit shorts.svg
Kit socks long.svg
Second colours
First international
Unofficial
Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal 4–0 Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg
(China; 6 November 1972)
Official
Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland 4–1 Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg
(Copenhagen, Denmark; 30 June 2001)
Biggest win
Flag of Tibet.svg  Tibet 12–2 Western Sahara  Flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.svg
(Marseille, France; 28 June 2013)
Biggest defeat
Flag of Provence (alternate).svg  Provence 22–0 Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg
(Marseille, France; 23 June 2013)
CONIFA World Football Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2018 )
Best result12th, 2018

The Tibet national football team is a football team that represents the cultural region of Tibet in non-FIFA international tournaments, [1] and is organized by the Tibetan National Football Association (TNFA), an organization of exiled Tibetans.

Contents

Many of the players are in exile and represent 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.

History

The Forbidden Team

The first Tibet team, c. 1936 First tibet national team.jpg
The first Tibet team, c. 1936

The first international game against a non-Asian team was versus Greenland, which took place in Denmark. [2] 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 or 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 its first international game, which was organized by Michael Nybrandt. He was also advocating for Tibet at a time when the Chinese government officials had made it clear that they did not want this match to happen as they believed Tibet belonged to China. They threatened to cut off all of China's trade with Denmark if the match went ahead as planned. Denmark, despite all of this, allowed the game to take place. And on 30 June 2001, the Tibetan National Football Team played its first international match in which it lost 1– 4 against Greenland. [3]

FIFI Wild Cup (Hamburg, Germany) and ELF Cup (Northern Cyprus)

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 and lost the game 5–0. During the ELF Cup Tibet played three games, the first game was against Tajikistan on 19, November 2006 in which they lost 3–0. And on 20 November, Tibet played the Crimean Tatars, and lost 1–0. In their final match, Tibet played Northern Cyprus, and lost 10–0.

International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes

During 2013, Tibet was invited to Marseille, France from 22 to 29 June in order to take part in the inaugural World Tournament of Peoples, Cultures, and Tribes.

The Tibetan team came in fifth place when the competition was over.

2018 ConIFA World Football Cup

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. [4]

2023 CONIFA Asia Cup

Tibet participated in the CONIFA Asia Cup in 2023. They lost 5-4 to Hmong FF in their first match, and then lost 3-1 to Tamil Eelam in their next match, which would get them eliminated. However, they qualified for the CONIFA World Cup 2024.

Current squad

The following players were called up to the squad for the 2025 Conifa Asian Football Cup in London. [5]

Head Coach: Flag of Tibet.svg Gompo Dorjee

No.Pos.PlayerDate of birth (age)CapsGoalsClub
211 GK Tenzin Tsewang Flag of the United States.svg Bay Area Friends Tibet
11 GK Tenzin Kalsang Flag of the United States.svg Tibet FC
22 DF Tenzin Osaki Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg SC Toronto
32 DF Tenzing Wangyal (1995-09-04) 4 September 1995 (age 30)20 Flag of the United States.svg New York Shockers
162 DF Sam Rinchen (2008-01-17) 17 January 2008 (age 17) Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Sportkring Sint-Niklaas
182 DF Tenzin Choepak (1996-01-07) 7 January 1996 (age 29) Flag of the United States.svg Unattached
292 DF Tenzin Kunsang Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Unattached
302 DF Tenzin Tsultrim Flag of the United States.svg FC Rangzen
83 MF Tenzin Dechance Flag of France.svg Unattached
113 MF Lennox Tendhar Flag of Scotland.svg East Craigie
193 MF Tenzin Namdol Flag of the United States.svg DV7 Soccer Academy
243 MF Karma Bhagentsang Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Oakville SC
593 MF Tenzin Passang Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Unattached
74 FW Tenzing Thabke (1995-11-16) 16 November 1995 (age 29)21 Flag of the United States.svg Unattached
94 FW Tenzing Chodak Flag of the United States.svg Tibet FC
104 FW Tenzin Yougyal (1993-08-12) 12 August 1993 (age 32) Flag of the United States.svg Unattached
634 FW Tenzin Thaye Flag of England.svg United Tibet

Selected internationals

Results 1970s

6 November 1972 Friendly Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg0–4Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal China
Attendance: —
7 June 1979Friendly Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg2–3Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal Dasharath Rangasala, Kathmandu
UnknownAttendance: —
9 June 1979Friendly Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg1–2Flag of Nepal.svg    Nepal Dasharath Rangasala, Kathmandu
UnknownAttendance: —

Results 2000s

30 June 2001Friendly Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg1–4Flag of Greenland.svg  Greenland Vanløse Idrætspark, Copenhagen
Norbu Attendance: 5000
14 July 2001Friendly Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg1–2Flag of Monaco.svg  Monaco Dreisamstadion, Freiburg
Unknown [6]
10 October 2003Friendly Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg1–2 Flag of India.svg Sikkim Paljor Stadium, Gangtok
Unknown
30 May 2006 FIFI Wild Cup Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg0–7 FC St. Pauli Millerntor-Stadion, Hamburg
Attendance: 400
31 May 2006FIFI Wild Cup Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg0–5Flag of Gibraltar.svg  Gibraltar Millerntor-Stadion, Hamburg
Attendance: 400
20 November 2006ELF Cup Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg0–1Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg  Crimean Tatars Zafer Stadium, Güzelyurt
4 August 2007Friendly Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg6–0 Flag of India.svg Delhi XI Kirori Mal College, New Delhi
Unknown
31 October 2007Friendly Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg2–2Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan Paljor Stadium, Gangtok, Sikkim
Unknown
2 November 2007Friendly Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg0–3Flag of Bhutan.svg  Bhutan Paljor Stadium, Gangtok, Sikkim
17 April 2008Friendly VDL-Maassluis Flag of the Netherlands.svg 5–0Flag of Tibet.svg  Tibet Maassluis, South Holland
19 April 2008Friendly JEKA Breda Flag of the Netherlands.svg 1–1Flag of Tibet.svg  Tibet Breda, North Brabant
Unknown
7 May 2008Friendly Padania  Flag of Padania.svg13–2Flag of Tibet.svg  Tibet Milan
Unknown

Results 2010s

23 June 2013 International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes Quebec  Flag of Quebec.svg21–0Flag of Tibet.svg  Tibet Marseille, France
24 June 2013 International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes Provence  Flag of Provence (alternate).svg22–0Flag of Tibet.svg  Tibet Marseille, France
31 May 2018 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup – Group Stage Abkhazia  Flag of the Republic of Abkhazia.svg3–0Flag of Tibet.svg  Tibet Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield
12:00 BSTAkhvlediani Soccerball shade.svg12'
Maskayev Soccerball shade.svg61'
Shoniya Soccerball shade.svg77'		 Report Referee: Raymond Mashamba
2 June 2018 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup – Group Stage Northern Cyprus  Flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.svg3–1Flag of Tibet.svg  Tibet Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield
17:00 BSTTuran Soccerball shade.svg2', 67'
Gök Soccerball shade.svg73'		 Report Topgyal Soccerball shade.svg38'Referee: John McCallum
3 June 2018 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup – Group Stage Kárpátalja  Flag of Transcarpathian Oblast.svg5–1Flag of Tibet.svg  Tibet Larges Lane, Bracknell
15:00 BST Gajdos Soccerball shade.svg2'
G. Sándor Soccerball shade.svg36' (pen.)
Takács Soccerball shade.svg42', 77'
Svedjuk Soccerball shade.svg75'		 Report Yougyal Soccerball shade.svg69'Referee: Raymond Mashamba
5 June 2018Friendly London Turkish Select Flag of Turkey.svg 4–0Flag of Tibet.svg  Tibet Hayes Lane, Bromley
15:00 BSTNalbant Soccerball shade.svgSoccerball shade.svgSoccerball shade.svg
Ali Avci Soccerball shade.svg		 Report Referee: Mario Guastafierro
7 June 2018 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup – Placement Round Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg1–8Flag placeholder.svg  Kabylia Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield
12:00 BSTTopgyal Soccerball shade.svg43' (pen.) Report Baudia Soccerball shade.svg25', 74', 77', 87'
Hadid Soccerball shade.svg45'
Mezaib Soccerball shade.svg49', 51'
Bouabbas Soccerball shade.svg81'		Referee: Clément Auclair
9 June 2018 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup – Placement Round Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg1–1
(1–4 p)		Unification flag of Korea.svg  United Koreans in Japan St Paul's Sports Ground, Rotherhithe
12:00 BSTYougyal Soccerball shade.svg20' Report Gelek Soccerball shade.svg84' (o.g.)Referee: Ivan Mrkalj

Results 2020s

5 August 20232023 CONIFA Asian Cup Hmong FF Hmong Flag (UNPO).svg5–4Flag of Tibet.svg  Tibet Alcochete, Portugal
7:00 PM CET
6 August 20232023 CONIFA Asian Cup Tibet  Flag of Tibet.svg1–3Bicolor flag of Tamil Eelam.svg  Tamil Eelam Alcochete, Portugal
7:00 PM CET
18 August 2023Friendly West Papua Morning Star flag.svg 5–2Flag of Tibet.svg  Tibet The Hague, Netherlands
Stadium: Sportpark De Verademing
1 July 20252025 CONIFA Asian CupBicolor flag of Tamil Eelam.svg  Tamil Eelam 4-0Flag of Tibet.svg  Tibet Walton-on-Thames, Surrey
Stadium: Elmbridge Sports Hub
3 July 20252025 CONIFA Asian CupFlag of Tibet.svg  Tibet 4-6Kokbayraq flag.svg  East Turkestan Walton-on-Thames, Surrey
Stadium: Elmbridge Sports Hub

General secretaries of the TNFA

Nameperiod
Flag of Tibet.svg Kelsang Dhondup2001–2017
Flag of Tibet.svg Passang Dorjee2017–In progress

Honours

References

  1. ↑ "Tibet – Monaco". Monégasque Football Federation. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  2. ↑ Cremer, Justin (28 February 2015). "Dane's Tibetan dream made football history" . Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  3. ↑ Sarmah, Bhargab (31 March 2013). "Keeping the flame alive: The Forbidden Team's story".
  4. ↑ Tibet National Football Team Qualifies for CONIFA World Football Cup 2018
  5. ↑ "TIbet Squad List CONIFA Asia Cup 2025" (PDF). conifa.org. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  6. ↑ "Tibet – Monaco". Monégasque Football Federation. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  7. ↑ "ANFA Invitational Tournament (Nepal)". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "Ladakh Climate Cup: Delhi FC rattle TNSA 6–0 to take trophy home". uniindia.com. Jammu. 7 September 2023. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
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