Tibet national football team
National men's association football team representing Tibet
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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.
| |||
| Nickname | The Forbiddens | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Tibetan National Football Association | ||
| Confederation | CONIFA | ||
| Head coach | Gompo Dorjee | ||
| Most caps | Tenzin Samdup BK Narayan (9) | ||
| Top scorer | Tashi Samphel (5) | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
Unofficial Nepal 4–0 Tibet  (China; 6 November 1972) Official  Greenland 4–1 Tibet (Copenhagen, Denmark; 30 June 2001) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Tibet 12–2 Western Sahara  (Marseille, France; 28 June 2013) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Provence 22–0 Tibet (Marseille, France; 23 June 2013) | |||
| CONIFA World Football Cup | |||
| Appearances | 1 (first in 2018) | ||
| Best result | 12th, 2018 | ||
Many of the players are in exile and represent the Central Tibetan Administration. 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 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]
Early History
Following its formation, and fixture against Greenland, Tibet played one further friendly in 2001, losing 2-1 to Monaco. Between 2002-2005, Tibet only played 1 game, a 2-1 friendly loss to Sikkim. The team then played in its first competitive competition, participating in the 2006 FIFI Wild Cup took place in Hamburg, Germany. The first match they played was against FC 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.
2006 also saw The Forbiddens participate in the ELF Cup. During the tournament, 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.
Just under a year later in 2007, Tibet picked up its first victory, defeating a Delhi XI in a friendly 6-0 in New Delhi.
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. This oversaw Tibet's only win at a competitive competition, which was not only their second win in history but also their biggest win, as they overcame Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic 12-2.
The Tibetan team came in fifth place when the competition was over.
CONIFA and Modern History
Tibet joined CONIFA, a Football governing body for non-FIFA affiliated national teams, and participated in the ConIFA World Football Cup in 2018 in London, by qualifying via a wild card.[4] The team came bottom of its group, which consisted of Kárpátalja, Northern Cyprus and Abkhazia, losing all 3 of their fixtures conceding 11 goals and scoring 2. They then faced Kabylia in their first placement match following the group stage, losing 8-1 to the Africans. They then faced the United Koreans in Japan in their final placement match, which ended in a 1-1 draw and saw Tibet lose 4-1 on penalties.[5]
Tibet then participated in the CONIFA Asia Cup for the first time 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. The team did go on to qualify for the CONIFA World Cup 2024 following its Asian Cup performance, however the tournament was cancelled after potential hosts São Paulo failed to show proof of organisational or financial ability.[6]
Following a 5-2 loss in a friendly to West Papua shortly after the 2023 Asian Cup, their next fixtures were in 2025, where they once again qualified for the Asian Cup which was held in London. A similar story to 2023 occurred as they lost 4-0 to Tamil Eelam in their opening match, before a 6-4 loss at the hand of East Turkestan, seeing Tibet finish 3rd out of 3 for the second tournament running.[7]
2025 also saw Tibet enter a tournament outside of CONIFA, as they participated in the 2025 Sikkim Gold Cup, hosted by the Sikkim Football Association in India. Their only game of the competition ended in a loss ending Tibet's journey early on, as they lost 4-0 to Sikkim Dragons of the Sikkim Premier League in the Qualifying Round.
Current squad
The following players were called up to the squad for the 2025 CONIFA Asian Football Cup in London.[8]
Head Coach: Gompo Dorjee
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | GK | Tenzin Tsewang |  Bay Area Friends Tibet | |||
| 1 | GK | Tenzin Kalsang | Tibet FC | |||
| 2 | DF | Tenzin Osaki |  SC Toronto | |||
| 3 | DF | Tenzing Wangyal | 4 September 1995 | 2 | 0 | New York Shockers |
| 16 | DF | Sam Rinchen | 17 January 2008 |  Sportkring Sint-Niklaas | ||
| 18 | DF | Tenzin Choepak | 7 January 1996 | Unattached | ||
| 29 | DF | Tenzin Kunsang | Unattached | |||
| 30 | DF | Tenzin Tsultrim | FC Rangzen | |||
| 8 | MF | Tenzin Dechance | Unattached | |||
| 11 | MF | Lennox Tendhar |  East Craigie | |||
| 19 | MF | Tenzin Namdol | DV7 Soccer Academy | |||
| 24 | MF | Karma Bhagentsang | Oakville SC | |||
| 59 | MF | Tenzin Passang | Unattached | |||
| 7 | FW | Tenzing Thabke | 16 November 1995 | 2 | 1 | Unattached |
| 9 | FW | Tenzing Chodak | Tibet FC | |||
| 10 | FW | Tenzin Yougyal | 12 August 1993 | Unattached | ||
| 63 | FW | Tenzin Thaye |  United Tibet | |||
Selected internationals
Results 1970s
| 7 June 1979 Friendly | Tibet | 2–3 | Nepal | Dasharath Rangasala, Kathmandu |
| Unknown | Attendance: — |
Results 2000s
| 14 July 2001 Friendly | Tibet | 1–2 |  Monaco | Dreisamstadion, Freiburg |
| Unknown | [9] |
| 10 October 2003 Friendly | Tibet | 1–2 |  Sikkim | Paljor Stadium, Gangtok |
| Unknown |
| 30 May 2006 FIFI Wild Cup | Tibet | 0–7 | FC St. Pauli | Millerntor-Stadion, Hamburg |
| Attendance: 400 |
| 19 November 2006 ELF Cup | Tibet | 0–3 |  Tajikistan (futsal) | Zafer Stadium, Güzelyurt |
| 20 November 2006 ELF Cup | Tibet | 0–1 |  Crimean Tatars | Zafer Stadium, Güzelyurt |
| 21 November 2006 ELF Cup | Tibet | 0–10 |  Northern Cyprus | Mağusa Dr. Fazıl Küçük Stadium, Gazimağusa |
| 4 August 2007 Friendly | Tibet | 6–0 | Delhi XI | Kirori Mal College, New Delhi |
| Unknown |
| 17 April 2008 Friendly | VDL-Maassluis  | 5–0 | Tibet | Maassluis, South Holland |
| 19 April 2008 Friendly | JEKA Breda | 1–1 | Tibet | Breda, North Brabant |
| Unknown |
Results 2010s
| 23 June 2013 International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes | Quebec  | 21–0 | Tibet | Marseille, France |
| 24 June 2013 International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes | Provence | 22–0 | Tibet | Marseille, France |
| 28 June 2013 International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes | Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic | 2–12 | Tibet | Marseille, France |
| Unknown |
| 31 May 2018 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup – Group Stage | Abkhazia  | 3–0 | Tibet | Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield |
| 12:00 BST | Akhvlediani  12'Maskayev 61'Shoniya 77' |
Report | Referee: Raymond Mashamba |
| 2 June 2018 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup – Group Stage | Northern Cyprus | 3–1 | Tibet | Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield |
| 17:00 BST | Turan 2', 67' Gök 73' |
Report | Topgyal 38' |
Referee: John McCallum |
| 3 June 2018 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup – Group Stage | Kárpátalja  | 5–1 | Tibet | Larges Lane, Bracknell |
| 15:00 BST | Gajdos 2' G. Sándor 36' (pen.)Takács 42', 77'Svedjuk 75' |
Report | Yougyal 69' |
Referee: Raymond Mashamba |
| 5 June 2018 Friendly | London Turkish Select  | 4–0 | Tibet | Hayes Lane, Bromley |
| 15:00 BST | Nalbant Ali Avci |
Report | Referee: Mario Guastafierro |
| 7 June 2018 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup – Placement Round | Tibet | 1–8 |  Kabylia | Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Enfield |
| 12:00 BST | Topgyal 43' (pen.) |
Report | Baudia 25', 74', 77', 87' Hadid 45'Mezaib 49', 51'Bouabbas 81' |
Referee: Clément Auclair |
| 9 June 2018 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup – Placement Round | Tibet | 1–1 (1–4 p) |  United Koreans in Japan | St Paul's Sports Ground, Rotherhithe |
| 12:00 BST | Yougyal 20' |
Report | Gelek 84' (o.g.) |
Referee: Ivan Mrkalj |
Results 2020s
| 6 August 2023 2023 CONIFA Asian Cup | Tibet | 1–3 |  Tamil Eelam | Alcochete, Portugal |
| 7:00 PM CET |
| 18 August 2023 Friendly | West Papua  | 5–2 | Tibet | The Hague, Netherlands |
| Stadium: Sportpark De Verademing |
| 1 July 2025 2025 CONIFA Asian Cup | Tamil Eelam | 4-0 | Tibet | Walton-on-Thames, Surrey |
| Stadium: Elmbridge Sports Hub |
| 3 July 2025 2025 CONIFA Asian Cup | Tibet | 4-6 |  East Turkestan | Walton-on-Thames, Surrey |
| Stadium: Elmbridge Sports Hub |
| 17 November 2025 2025 Sikkim Gold Cup | Tibet | 0–4 | Sikkim Dragon FC | Gangtok, Sikkim |
| 12:00 IST | Stadium: Paljor Stadium |
General secretaries of the TNFA
| Name | period |
|---|---|
| Kelsang Dhondup |
2001–2017 |
| Passang Dorjee |
2017– |
Honours
- CONIFA Asian Football Cup
- Third (2): 2023, 2025