The Timor-Leste national football team is the national team of
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
() and is controlled by the
Federação de Futebol de Timor-Leste
The East Timor Football Federation ( pt, Federação de Futebol de Timor-Leste - FFTL) is the governing body of football in East Timor.
In 2016 Timor-Leste run their own league under supervision of and Secretary of State for Youth and Sport. ...
. They joined
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 ...
on 12 September 2005.
Timor-Leste's international debut was in the preliminary round of the
2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification
The qualification process for the 2004 AFC Asian Cup football competition began in March 2003. Out of the 45 AFC members, only Cambodia and the Philippines failed to enter for the tournament. Both China, the hosts and Japan, the reigning champion ...
in March 2003, when they lost 3–2 to
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
and 3–0 to
Chinese Taipei
"Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan.
Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...
. They also participated in the
2004 AFF Championship
The 2004 AFF Championship (officially known as the 2004 Tiger Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 5th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), and the last time und ...
. Timor-Leste's participation in Southeast Asia's premier international football event in 2004 was announced after an
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...
council meeting in Petaling Jaya. Although not yet a member of the AFC, the Timor-Leste Football Association was invited to sit in on the meeting, where they were represented by FA president Francia Kalbuadi. Timor-Leste won their first international match on 5 October 2012 against
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
with a score of 5–1.
History
Football was established in Timor-Leste during the Portuguese colonial era, when many of the locals and the Portuguese officials played amateur football. After Portugal ended its colonial rule,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
invaded and occupied the island. East Timor eventually gained independence from Indonesia in 2000, which resulted in a long running battle against Jakarta-led forces.
The East Timor Football Association was accepted as an associate member of AFC at the 20th AFC Congress in 2002. Their international debut came in March 2003 when they participated in the qualifying campaign for the
2004 AFC Asian Cup
The 2004 AFC Asian Cup was the 13th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held from 17 July to 7 August 2004 in China. ...
in China. Given their history, it was no surprise that they crashed out with defeats against the likes of Sri Lanka and Chinese Taipei. They entered the regional competition for the first time in 2004 as they played in the ASEAN Football Federation Championship (previously known as Tiger Cup) as an invited member. They finished in last place, showing that they had a long way to go before they could compete even on the regional stage.
They again had no success in the qualifying round of the
2007 AFF Championship
The 2007 AFF Championship was the 6th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of Southeast Asia. The group stage was co-hosted by Singapore and Thailand from 12 to 17 January. Knockout stage with two-leg Home-and-away format w ...
, with four heavy losses, including a 7–0 trouncing by the Philippines. In the third qualifying round for the
2008 AFF Championship
The 2008 AFF Championship was the seventh edition of the tournament. It was primarily sponsored by Suzuki and therefore officially known as the 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup. The group stage was held in Indonesia and Thailand from 5 to 10 December 2008. T ...
, they surprisingly drew against Cambodia; this feat was reported in international news.
In the ninth
AFF Suzuki Cup
The ASEAN Football Federation Championship (less formally the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup for sponsorship reason, is the primary association football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football ...
, the country's
football federation (FFTL) reportedly selected their foreign based players, who played in Brazil, Portugal, Australia and elsewhere, to fortify the team as they also did at the
2011 SEA Games
The 2011 Southeast Asian Games, ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia Tenggara 2011) officially known as the 26th Southeast Asian Games, or the 26th SEA Games, and commonly known as Jakarta-Palembang 2011, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held from ...
.
On 5 October 2012, Timor-Leste won their first international match in a 5–1 victory against Cambodia. On 9 October 2012, the team won another match against
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
at
AFF Suzuki Cup qualifier.
Murilo de Almeida scored a penalty at 43 minutes of the first half of the match. Later
Adelino Trindade
Adelino Trindade (born 2 June 1995), simply known as Adelino or Ady, is an East Timorese Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Dili United F.C., Dili United and the Timor-Leste national football team, Timor-Leste national ...
extended the Timorese advantage with a header early in the second half and then
Alan Leandro added the third goal on the 83rd minute. After winning the second match against Laos,
Emerson Alcântara
Emerson Ricardo Alcântara (born 27 August 1970 in Cândido Mota) is a Brazilian football manager and a former defender and defensive midfielder for C.F. Os Belenenses. He is the former manager of North East Stars of Trinidad and Tobago.
Pl ...
stated "This is a win for the people of Timor Leste. They had to wait a long time for our team to win their first match in this competition but now we have two wins and this was an important victory for Timor Leste. "I think that about 70 percent of people in Timor Leste are poor so it is very important to get this result for them because they love football and the people can get confidence and take pride in this result. It is very important for us to motivate our people and to help to change their lives."
Naturalised players controversy
Since 2012 several
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian-born footballers, who are not of East Timorese descent and had not necessarily played in the East Timorese League, were expressly naturalised to raise the level of "Sol Nascente".
The country's recent history of naturalizing foreign players, mainly from
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
such as
Murilo de Almeida,
Fellipe Bertoldo, and
Diogo Santos Rangel has been criticized by many, including native East Timorese players and fans.
In a match on 8 October 2015 against
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
seven of the starting eleven for the Timorese line-up were naturalized Brazilians. Following the match the
Palestinian Football Association
The Palestinian Football Association ( ar, الاتحاد الفلسطيني لكرة القدم) is the governing body for football in Palestine, and for the men's Palestine national football team and the Palestine women's national football te ...
made a complaint to FIFA stating that the naturalized Timorese players were not eligible to represent Timor-Leste under FIFA rules.
Following a concern from some Timorese who complained to the prime minister, the prosecutor general and the minister for justice regarding the naturalisation program,
Timor Leste Football Federation (FFTL) decided to drop their oversea-born legion. It meant Timor Leste would be without seven naturalised
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian players for the
2018 FIFA 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 ...
and
2019 AFC Asian Cup
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 ...
joint qualifiers match against
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
on 12 November 2015.
In that match coach
Fernando Alcântara played an all national line up including six who were under twenty, including
Ervino Soares
Ervino Alessandro Pedro Soares (born 30 May 1999) or simply Ervino, is a football player who currently plays for Timor-Leste national football team.
International career
Ervino made his senior international debut in an 8-0 loss against United Ar ...
who was 16. Timor Leste ended up losing the match 8–0. Alcântara took responsibility for the defeat although he also added that he had been forced to play such an inexperienced line-up by the FFTL.
The next match, Timor-Leste did even worse, suffering a record 0–10 home defeat to a strong
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
side, who eventually qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Jesse Pinto, an Australian-Timorese footballer, told reporters that the FFTL gives Brazilian players Timorese passports so that they can be registered as "Asian" players and meet the quotas of teams. Pinto also added that the FFTL often takes advantage of players from poor backgrounds, but that it often did not meet its promises of allowing players to travel back to Brazil to meet their families.
In December 2016, the FFTL was charged with using forged and falsified documents, fielding ineligible players and bringing the game into disrepute.
A decision was made on 20 January 2017 that Timor-Leste is barred from participating in the
qualification tournament for the
2023 AFC Asian Cup
The 2023 AFC Asian Cup will be the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It will involve 24 national teams after expansion in 201 ...
after being found to have fielded a total of twelve ineligible players in
2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification was the qualification process organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to determine the participating teams for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, the 17th edition of the international men's football champions ...
matches and among other competitions.
Team image
Kit manufacturers
The team's kit manufacturer was
Kubba Sportswear from June 2014 to February 2017.
Since 2018, the kits are made by Narrow, an Indonesian apparel. The home kit is red shirts, black shorts, and red socks, with black as a secondary color. The away kit all white. From 2008 to 2010, their away kits were yellow but at
2010 AFF Suzuki Cup qualification
The 2010 AFF Championship qualification tournament was held in Vientiane, Laos from 22 to 26 October 2010 for the five lower-ranked teams in Southeast Asia. All teams played in a round-robin tournament format with the winner and runner-up qualif ...
, the away kits changed back into all whites. Their kits were made by Nike in 2012. Previous kit makers include
Mitre
The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...
,
Joma
Joma () is a Spanish sports clothing manufacturer that currently produces footwear and clothing for football, futsal, handball, basketball, volleyball, running, tennis, and padel. Its headquarters are located in Portillo de Toledo, Spain.
Histor ...
,
Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...
and Tiger.
Stadium
Timor Leste's home stadium is the
East Timor National Stadium in
Dili
Dili (Portuguese/Tetum: ''Díli'') is the capital, largest city of East Timor and the second largest city in Timor islands after Kupang (Indonesia). It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in ...
. The stadium capacity is 5,000. The first official match played in the stadium was a
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts. All 210 ...
match against
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
on 12 March 2015.
Results and fixtures
2022
2023
Coaching staff
Coaching history
Players
Current squad
* The following players were called up for the
2022 AFF Championship qualification.
* Match dates: 5 and 8 November 2022
* Oppositions:
*Caps and goals correct as of: 8 November 2022, after the match against
Previous squads
*
2004 Tiger Cup squad
*
2016 AFC Solidarity Cup squad
*
2018 AFF Suzuki Cup squad
*
2020 AFF Suzuki Cup squad
Player records
:''Players in bold are still active with Timor-Leste.''
Most capped players
Top goalscorers
Competition records
World Cup record
Notes
Lusofonia Games
Asian Cup record
AFC Challenge Cup record
*
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
– ''Was originally selected to take part, but was then replaced''
*
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
– ''Was selected to take part, but withdrew''
AFC Solidarity Cup record
AFF Championship
Head-to-head record
''As of 8 November 2022''
References
External links
Profile at FIFA.comProfile at the-AFC.comProfile at AFF SiteTimor-Lesteat National-Football-Teams.com
*
{{National sports teams of East Timor
Asian national association football teams