The Chad national football team ( ar, منتخب تشاد لكرة القدم, french: Équipe du Tchad de football), nicknamed ''Sao'' ( ar, ساو), represents
Chad
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
in international
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
and is controlled by the
Chadian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country. The team has never qualified for the
World Cup finals or
Africa Cup of Nations
The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internat ...
. Home matches are played at the
Idriss Mahamat Ouya Stadium.
In April 2021, FIFA banned the Chad national football team from participating in global football over the Chadian government's interference with the Chadian Football Federation.
History
The
Chadian Football Federation was founded in 1962, and affiliated to
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
and to
CAF in 1988.
Chad's national football team did not play a big role in world football until the 1990s. They did not enter any qualifiers for Continental or World Cups until the early 1990s when they played their first qualifying matches for the
1992 Africa Cup of Nations
The 1992 African Cup of Nations was the 18th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Senegal. The field expanded to twelve teams, split into four groups of three; the top two teams in e ...
, hosted by
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
. Until then, they played mostly friendly matches and minor cups, mostly with African teams.
The national team had a difficult start − the first match they ever played was in the
L'Amitié Tournament, which took place in
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
in 1963, and it was a 2–1 defeat to
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast� ...
. Soon after, they suffered a 6–2 loss to
Dahomey
The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...
(now
Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
).
The Chad national football team never qualified for either the
Africa Cup of Nations
The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internat ...
or the
World Cup. Their first participation in the World Cup qualifiers was in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
when they were eliminated in the
first round
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
by
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast� ...
, losing 0–1 at home, and playing 0–0 away. They were coached by Marcel Mao. Their next attempt was in
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...
, under Yann Djim, but they were eliminated by
Angola
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, capital = Luanda
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, religion_year = 2020
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. They won their first home game when
Francis Oumar Belonga
Francis Oumar Belonga (born 13 March 1978) is a retired Chadian footballer who is currently a coach of Elect-Sport FC.
Career
He has also played as striker for Bontang PKT in the Indonesia Super League.
See also
* List of Chad international ...
scored a hat trick, 3–1. They lost their away match 2–0, and went no further. The
qualifiers for the
2010 World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
brought more matches because they played in a group phase together with
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...
,
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
and
Congo. They finished at the bottom of the group, with six points (two wins and four losses).
In
the qualifying competition for the
2014 World Cup, Chad faced
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
in a first-round playoff. Tanzania advanced despite shockingly losing 1–0 at home at
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...
's National Stadium. The Taifa Stars were tipped for an emphatic victory over the visitors, having won the first-leg 2–1 in
N'Djamena
N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''.
The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are the c ...
. Chad stunned the home side three minutes after the break when Mahamat Ahmat Labo struck to silence the home crowd. But Tanzania managed to progress to the next round thanks to the away goals rule as they were tied 2–2 on aggregate.
Chad played against
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northe ...
in the
qualifiers for the
2013 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...
. Chad won the first leg match 3–2, but lost 2–0 in
Blantyre
Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...
to be eliminated with an aggregate score of 4–3.
In the
qualifiers for the
2015 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...
, Malawi was the opponent once again. Chad lost 2–0 in the first leg at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre, but they won 3–1 in at Idriss Mahamat Ouya Stadium in N'Djamena, losing on the away goals rule. Forward
Robin Ngalande turned into a savior for Malawi when he came off the bench to score a crucial late goal.
The biggest achievement for Chad so far is a
CEMAC Cup (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa) title in 2014, after beating
Congo 3–2 in the final on December 14 in
Bata,
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
. French-born
Emmanuel Trégoat managed the team. Their previous best was a second place in the 2005 edition, when they lost to
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...
in the final.
''Les Sao'' had a disappointing start into their
qualifying campaign for the
2017 Africa Cup of Nations, losing 2–0 to
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
and slumping to a 5–1 defeat at home against
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
. But it was then that things took a turn for the better, as coach
Moudou Kouta, who was in charge of the side on an interim basis, took the team to an unexpected victory against
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
in the first round of the
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, qualifiers for the
2018 World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
. ''Les Sao'' won 1–0 at home and even though they were beaten 2–1 in the return leg, they advanced to the second round of the qualifiers on away goals. Chad sensationally defeated
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
1–0 at home in the second round before falling to a 4–0 defeat in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
three days later.
In March 2016, the Chadian Football Federation announced they were withdrawing from the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification due to financial problems. The team was subsequently banned from entering the
following edition, meaning they would play no official games for over three years until September 2019, when Chad lost 1–3 at home to
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
in
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualificationAlso the "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers". was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Parallel tourn ...
. A month later ''Les Sao'' defeated
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast� ...
on penalties to reach the Group Stage of
2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches were organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to decide the participating teams of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the 33rd edition of the international men's football champions ...
.
In March 2021, the Chadian government dissolved the
Chadian Football Federation, leaving Chad facing a likely ban under FIFA regulations that prevent governments from interfering in the running of a country's football team. In April 2021, FIFA announced an indefinite ban from global football, citing the Chadian government's interference.
Due to this decision,
CAF disqualified Chad from its participation in the
2021 AFCON qualifiers.
Kits
During the independence of Chad, the team competed in international matches and played in a blue shirt, blue shorts, and red socks. These are the national colours of the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
flag. In the 1970s, Chad's home colors changed to blue-yellow-red. Their first away kit in 1960 was white shirt, red shorts, and white socks. In 1980, the away kit color changed into red shirt, blue shorts, and yellow socks.
Recent results
2022
Coaching history
*
Vasily Sokolov (1967–1971)
*
Anzor Kavazashvili
Anzor Amberkovich Kavazashvili ( ka, ანზორ ყავაზაშვილი, russian: Анзор Амберкович Кавазашвили, born 19 July 1940) is a Soviet former football goalkeeper of Georgian nationality.
Honours ...
(1976–1977)
*
Moussarou Ngongolo (1998)
*
Yann Djim Ngarlendana (1998)
*
Douba Djibrine (1999)
*
Marcel Mao (2000)
*
Jean Paul Akono (2002–2003)
*
Yann Djim Ngarlendana (2003)
*
Yann Djim Ngarlendana (2005–2006)
*
Moudou Kouta (2006)
*
Natoltiga Okalah (2006–2007)
*
Mahamat Adoum (2007)
*
Natoltiga Okalah (2008)
*
Sherif El-Khashab (2009–2011)
*
Moudou Kouta (2011–2013)
*
Emmanuel Trégoat (2014–2015)
*
Rigobert Song
Rigobert Song Bahanag (born 1 July 1976) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who is the manager of the Cameroon national team.
Known for his defensive skills, Song usually played as a centre-back but could also operate at right-back ...
(2015)
*
Moudou Kouta (2015–2016)
*
Djimtan Yatamadji (2019)
*
Emmanuel Trégoat (2019–2020)
*
Djimtan Yatamadji (2020–present)
Players
Current squad
The following players have been called up for the
2023 AFCON preliminary round matches against
Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
in March 2022.
''Caps and goals current as of 27 March 2022 after the match against
Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
.''
Recent call-ups
The following players have been called up for Chad in the last 12 months.
DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up.
INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.
RET Player has retired from international football.
SUS Suspended from the national team.
Player records
:''Players in bold are still active with Chad.''
Most capped players
Top goalscorers
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
Africa Cup of Nations
Head-to-head records against other countries
Achievements
:
CEMAC Cup :
::*Winner:
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
::*1 Time Runners-up
:
UDEAC Championship :
::*2 Time Runners-up
See also
*
List of Chad international footballers
This is the list of players that have played for the Chad national football team
The Chad national football team ( ar, منتخب تشاد لكرة القدم, french: Équipe du Tchad de football), nicknamed ''Sao'' ( ar, ساو), represents ...
*
Football in Chad
References
External links
Chadian Football Federation
*
National football team of Chad picture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chad National Football Team
African national association football teams