Tibet national football team
![]() | |||
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 |
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. Its current team manager is Kelsang Dhondup.
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.
History

The Forbidden Team
The first international game against a non-Asian team was versus Greenland, which took place in Denmark. 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.
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.
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]
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. 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 20th November, Tibet played the Crimean Tatars, which they lost 1–0. Finally, on 21st November the biggest loss came when Tibet played Northern Cyprus, who beat them 10–0.
International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes
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.
2018 ConIFA World Football Cup
For the first time in its history the Tibetan selection participates in the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup by qualifying with the wild card.[3]
Current squad
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 | GK | Tenzin Samdup | 23 December 1992 | 7 | 0 | ![]() |
21 | GK | Sangye Gyatso | 6 May 1987 | 2 | 0 | |
23 | DF | Dawa Tashi | 16 April 1987 | 6 | 0 | Unattached |
3 | DF | Tenzin Bhakdo | 5 August 1996 | 3 | 1 | ![]() |
5 | DF | Gelek Wangchuk | 15 September 1992 | 3 | 0 | Unattached |
13 | DF | Tenzingh Dhondhen | 13 December 1994 | 2 | 1 | Unattached |
15 | DF | Tenzin Gelek | 10 May 1989 | 2 | 0 | Unattached |
8 | DF | Tenzin Dhondup | 17 September 1986 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
18 | Tenzin Yougyal | 12 August 1993 | 5 | 2 | ![]() | |
19 | DF | Tenzin Choepak | 7 January 1996 | 0 | 0 | Unattached |
6 | MF | BK Narayan | 25 November 1991 | 7 | 0 | Unattached |
14 | MF | Karma Tsewang | 10 January 1988 | 2 | 1 | Unattached |
4 | MF | Tenzin Loedup | 21 December 1991 | 2 | 0 | Unattached |
2 | MF | Thupten Tsering | 17 January 1994 | 0 | 0 | Unattached |
12 | MF | Kelsang Lungkara | 9 May 1995 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
17 | MF | Ruden Tshering Tashi Dorjee Bhutia | 12 November 1991 | 0 | 0 | Unattached |
11 | FW | Kalsang Topgyal | 24 December 1996 | 3 | 1 | ![]() |
7 | FW | Tsering Chomphel | 18 November 1991 | 2 | 0 | Unattached |
9 | FW | Pema Lhundup | 11 February 1996 | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
10 | FW | Tenzin Thardoe | 15 March 1998 | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
22 | FW | Tenzin Tsering | 16 November 1995 | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
20 | FW | Tashi Samphel | 6 May 1987 | 1 | 5 | ![]() |
16 | FW | Tenzin Norbu Tekhang | 13 June 1996 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
Selected internationals
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 | |
2 November 2007 | ![]() | ![]() | 0–3 | |
31 October 2007 | ![]() | ![]() | 2–2 | |
4 August 2007 | ![]() | ![]() | 6–0 | |
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 |
General Secretaries of the TNFA
Name | period |
---|---|
![]() |
2001–2017 |
![]() |
2017–In progress |
References
- "Tibet – Monaco". Monégasque Football Federation. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
- Sarmah, Bhargab. "Keeping the flame alive: The Forbidden Team's story".
- Tibet National Football Team Qualifies for CONIFA World Football Cup 2018
- "Tibetan Football to debut in CONIFA 2018 World Cup". Tibetsun.com. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- "ANFA Invitational Tournament (Nepal)". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
External links
- Official website (TNFA)
- Official website (ConIFA)