Tamil Eelam national football team
Football team in Sri Lanka
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The Tamil Eelam National Football Team (Tamil: தமிழீழத் தேசிய உதைபந்தாட்ட அணி) is a representative football team for Tamil Eelam, a proposed state in Sri Lanka. The team, which mostly consists of players drawn from the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora community in Canada and Europe, was established in 2012 by the Tamileelam Football Association (TEFA).[1] TEFA is affiliated to the Confederation of Independent Football Associations, an umbrella association for entities unaffiliated with FIFA, and therefore cannot compete in the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup since they are not affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). As of March 2020, the team was ranked 16th in the CONIFA World ranking.[2]
World Unity Football Alliance
| Association | Tamileelam Football Association | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Confederation | ConIFA World Unity Football Alliance | ||
| Head coach | Ragesh Nambiar | ||
| Captain | Prashanth Ragavan | ||
| Most caps | Gvinthan Navaneethakrishnan Prashanth Ragavan (15) | ||
| Top scorer | Prashanth Ragavan (12) | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 Raetia 1–0 Tamil Eelam  (Erbil, Iraq; 5 June 2012) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Tamil Eelam 10–0 Darfur  (Östersund, Sweden; 7 June 2014) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
Tamil Eelam 0–9 Kurdistan Region  (Östersund, Sweden; 3 June 2014) | |||
| ConIFA World Football Cup | |||
| Appearances | 2 (first in 2014) | ||
| Best result | 11th (2014) | ||
| CONIFA Asian Football Cup | |||
| Appearances | 2 (first in 2023) | ||
| Best result | Champions (2023, 2025) | ||
| Website | Tamileelam Football Association | ||
History
The Tamil Eelam Football Association was established by the Global Tamil Youth League on 8 April 2012.[3] The Tamil Eelam national football team made its international debut at the 2012 VIVA World Cup held in Iraqi Kurdistan, finishing in 7th place.[4][5] The team took part in the Tynwald Hill International Football Tournament History held on the Isle of Man in July 2013, finishing in 3rd place.[6][7][8] The team took part in the 2014 ConIFA World Football Cup held in the Sápmi region.[9][10]
Tournament record
World Cup record
| World Cup History | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Date | Stadium | Score | Result | ||
| VIVA World Cup | |||||||
| 2012[11] | |||||||
| Round 1 (Group B) | 5 June 2012 | Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil | Raetia | 1-0 | Tamil Eelam | Lose | |
| Round 1 (Group B) | 6 June 2012 | Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil | Tamil Eelam | 0-3 |  Zanzibar | Lose | |
| 5th-8th Place Semi-Finals | 7 June 2012 | Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil | Occitania  | 7-0 | Tamil Eelam | Lose | |
| 7th Place Match | 9 June 2012 | Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil | Tamil Eelam | 4-0 | Raetia | Win | |
| ConIFA World Football Cup | |||||||
| 2014[12] | |||||||
| Round 1 (Group A) | 2 June 2014 | Jämtkraft Arena, Östersund | Tamil Eelam | 0-2 |  Arameans Suryoye | Lose | |
| Round 1 (Group A) | 3 June 2014 | Jämtkraft Arena, Östersund | Tamil Eelam | 0-9 | Kurdistan Region | Lose | |
| Placement Round 1 | 5 June 2014 | Jämtkraft Arena, Östersund | Tamil Eelam | 2-4 |  Sápmi | Lose | |
| Placement Round 2 | 7 June 2014 | Jämtkraft Arena, Östersund | Tamil Eelam | 10-0 | Darfur | Win | |
| 2018[13] | |||||||
| Round 1 (Group A) | 31 May 2018 | Hayes Lane, Bromley | Barawa  | 4-0 | Tamil Eelam | Lose | |
| Round 1 (Group A) | 2 June 2018 | Colston Avenue, Carshalton | Ellan Vannin  | 2-0 | Tamil Eelam | Lose | |
| Round 1 (Group A) | 3 June 2018 | St Paul's Sports Ground, Rotherhithe | Tamil Eelam | 0-6 |  Cascadia | Lose | |
| Placement Round 9th-16th | 5 June 2018 | Parkside, Aveley | Abkhazia  | 6-0 | Tamil Eelam | Lose | |
| Placement Round 13th-16th | 7 June 2018 | Gander Green Lane, Sutton | Tamil Eelam | 4-3 |  Tuvalu | Win | |
| Placement Round 13th-14th | 9 June 2018 | Parkside, Aveley | Matabeleland  | 1-0 | Tamil Eelam | Lose | |
Asia Cup Record
| CONIFA Asia Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Position | P | W | D | L | F | A |
 2023 | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
 2025 | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| Total | Best: 1st | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 3 |
| ConIFA Asia Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Date | Stadium | Score | Result | ||
| 2023 | Group Stage | 5 August 2023 | Clube Olimpico Montijo | Tamil Eelam |
3-0 |  Hmong FF |
Win |
| Group Stage | 7 August 2023 | Clube Olimpico Montijo | Tibet  |
1-3 | Tamil Eelam |
Win | |
| Final | 9 August 2023 | Clube Olimpico Montijo | Tamil Eelam |
3-1 | Hmong FF |
Win | |
| 2025 | Group Stage | 1 July 2025 | Elmbridge Sports Hub | Tamil Eelam |
4-0 | Tibet |
Win |
| Group Stage | 2 July 2025 | Elmbridge Sports Hub | Tamil Eelam |
2-1 |  East Turkestan |
Win | |
| Final | 4 July 2025 | Elmbridge Sports Hub | Tamil Eelam |
5-0 | East Turkestan |
Win | |
Tynwald Hill International Football Tournament
| Tynwald Hill International Football Tournament | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Position | P | W | D | L | F | A |
| 2013 | 3rd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 8 |
| Total | Best: 3rd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 8 |
| Tynwald Hill International Football Tournament History | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Date | Stadium | Score | Result | ||
| 2013[14][15][16] | |||||||
| Round 1 (Group 1) | 4 July 2013 | Mullen e Cloie, St John's | Sealand  | 3 – 5 | Tamil Eelam | Win | |
| Round 1 (Group 1) | 6 July 2013 | Mullen e Cloie, St John's | Occitania | 5 – 0 | Tamil Eelam | Lose | |
| 3rd/4th Place Match | 7 July 2013 | Mullen e Cloie, St John's | Raetia | 0 – 5 | Tamil Eelam | Win | |
Recent results
2019
| 10 October 2019 WC Qualification Match | Yorkshire  | 1–2 | Tamil Eelam | Yorkshire, England |
| Stadium: Meadow Lane |
Current squad
The following players are members of the current squad. They have played in the recent CONIFA 2020 WFC qualification matches. The CONIFA 2020 World Football Cup has been cancelled due to the unprecedented disruption of the coronavirus pandemic.[17]
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Praveen Ahilan | 20 September 1992 (aged 27) | 2 | 0 |  Canada |
| 12 | GK | Jerome Marusilin | 14 December 1994 (aged 24) | 1 | 0 |  NUSC |
| 13 | DF | Ninon Paskarajesudasan | 15 September 1993 (aged 26) | 3 | 0 | France |
| 2 | DF | Keerthihan Kalaialagan | 13 October 1995 (aged 23) | 3 | 0 | France |
| 25 | DF | Thomas Thevasahayam | 9 June 1995 (aged 24) | 2 | 0 | France |
| 5 | DF | Sujeen Ravinchandran | 20 August 1993 (aged 26) | 2 | 1 | FC Bourget |
| 23 | DF | Jey Siva | 23 March 1988 (aged 31) | 3 | 0 | Harlow Town |
| 22 | DF | Majuran Panchalingam | 27 January 1987 (aged 32) | 1 | 0 |  Switzerland |
| 16 | MF | Steven Sacayaradjy | 2 February 1995 (aged 24) | 3 | 1 | France |
| 8 | MF | Panushanth Kulenthiran | 26 July 1990 (aged 29) | 11 | 8 |  AC Senna Gloria |
| 6 | MF | Mayooran Chelliah | 8 April 1991 (aged 28) | 9 | 1 | CS Eelavar |
| 17 | MF | Senthuran Uthayasuthan | 30 September 1992 (aged 27) | 3 | 6 | France |
| 15 | MF | Janothan Perananthan | 20 July 1994 (aged 25) | 6 | 1 | Surbiton Sports |
| 21 | MF | Shara Sivananthan | 17 January 1996 (aged 23) | 1 | 0 | UK |
| 19 | MF | Kisanthan Nagarasa | 28 December 1998 (aged 20) | 1 | 0 |  Germany |
| 10 | FW | Gvinthan Navaneethakrishnan | 28 March 1990 (aged 29) | 15 | 8 | SV Kickers Büchig |
| 7 | FW | Prashanth Ragavan | 21 August 1991 (aged 28) | 15 | 12 | Drancy United |
| 9 | FW | Kasthuran Chelliah | 9 August 1990 (aged 29) | 6 | 2 |  WDS'19 |
| 14 | FW | Kirushan Confucious | 16 June 1995 (aged 24) | 2 | 0 | France |
| 20 | FW | Agash Pathi | 25 January 1997 (aged 22) | 1 | 2 |  Stovner |