The Central African Republic national football team (French: ''Équipe de République centrafricaine de football''), nicknamed ''Les Fauves'', is the national team of the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

and is controlled by the Central African Football Federation. They are a member of CAF. Despite being traditionally one of the weakest teams in Africa and the world, they have had some success. They won the 2009 CEMAC Cup by beating

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

in the semi-finals and

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

in the final 3–0. Their FIFA ranking rose from 202nd in August 2010 to 89th by July 2011. On 10 October 2010, they earned a shock 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier win at home against

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

2–0, which put them top of their qualification group. The team won its first FIFA World Cup qualifier on 2 June 2012 after beating

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

2–0 at home.

History

Early years (1956–1989)

The team made its debut under the name of

Ubangi-Shari Ubangi-Shari () was a French colonial empire, French colony in central Africa, a part of French Equatorial Africa. It was named after the Ubangi River, Ubangi and Chari River, Chari rivers of the Central African Republic, rivers along which it w ...

in 1956 against French Cameroon. The Central African Football Federation was founded in 1961 and joined

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

in 1964 and CAF in 1965. Their first competitive match was in the 1961 Friendship Games in

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

where Central African Republic drew twice against Upper Volta and

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–Lib ...

before losing to the hosts and failing to progress to the next round. Central African Republic entered the 1974 African Cup of Nations qualification for the first time, progressing due to

's withdrawal but were then eliminated 5–4 on aggregate by

, a tie which saw the second leg abandoned at half-time after arguments between players of both sides, forcing a replay in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

which Ivory Coast won 5–1. They took part in 1984 UDEAC Cup where they qualified to the knock-out rounds on goal-difference over

but were then heavily beaten by

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

7–1 before beating

on penalties to finish third. However in the 1988 UDEAC Cup, Gabon would get their revenge, beating Central African Republic in the semi-finals. The following year Central African Republic would host the 1989 UDEAC Cup, making it to the finals, beating Gabon on the way, before losing 2–1 to

Sporadic matches (1990–2008)

During the 1990s, Central African Republic played very few international games, withdrawing from the 1996 African Cup of Nations qualification without playing a match. They returned to competition in the UNIFAC Cup in 1999, winning three times and losing twice to finish second. Central African Republic participated in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers for the first time, losing in the first round to

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. They reached the final of the inaugural CEMAC Cup, losing to an amateur

team that they'd drawn with a week earlier in the tournament.

Promising victories (2009–2019)

In 2009, Central African Republic hosted the 2009 CEMAC Cup where they defeated

3–0 in the final, with goals from Salif Kéïta and a brace from Hilaire Momi to claim their first trophy. During the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Central African Republic achieved a historic 2–0 home victory over the top seeded

, a team that had recently competed at the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

. In July 2011, they climbed to 89th place in the FIFA world rankings, having occupied 202nd place as recently as August 2010. On 2 June 2012, they obtained their first victory in World Cup qualification, beating

2–0 at home. Despite that positive result, Central African Republic finished bottom of their group. On 15 June 2012, despite being reduced to ten men, they achieved another impressive victory, beating

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

3–2 in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, inflicting the first home defeat on the Egyptians in AFCON qualifiers since 1965. Thanks to a 1–1 draw at home in the second leg, Central African Republic eliminated the Egyptians, but in the second round they were defeated by

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

Missed opportunities (2020–present)

On 30 March 2021, in the last group stage match of the Africa Cup of Nations qualification, Central African Republic lost 1–0 at home against

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

to finish bottom of their group; hence, they missed the opportunity, had they won, to finish second which would have qualified them for the final tournament for the first time in their history. On 17 June 2023, Central African Republic needed a win at home against

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

on matchday 5 of the qualifications to secure their first ever participation in the Africa Cup of Nations; however, the match ended in a 2–1 defeat and a drop to third place. In the final group stage match, the national team lost 2–1 to

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, despite a 1–0 lead, which ended their last hope of qualification.

FIFA Series tournament

In 2024, Central African Republic played their first ever tournament outside Africa where

invited them to the 2024 FIFA Series matches on from 22 to 25 March 2024 held in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

in Sri Lanka where they would face

Bhutan Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2024

2025

Coaching history

:Caretaker managers are listed in ''italics''. * Evgeni Rogov (1973-1976) * Jean-Jacques Ombi (?-?) * Étienne Momokoamas (2004-2006) * Francois Yanguere (2006-2008) * Jules Accorsi (2010–2012) * '' Herve Lougoundji'' (2012–2014) * Raoul Savoy (2014–2015) * Blaise Kopogo (2015) * Herve Lougoundji (2015–2017) * Raoul Savoy (2017–2019) * François Zahoui (2019–2021) * Raoul Savoy (2021–2024) * '' Eloge Enza Yamissi'' (2024-25) * Rigobert Song (2025-)

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected for the friendly matches against

and

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

on 6 and 9 June 2025 respectively. ''Caps and goals as of 6 June 2025, after the match against

.''

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Central African Republic squad within the last twelve months. ^INJ Withdrew due to injury
^PRE Preliminary squad
^RET Retired from the national team
^SUS Serving suspension
^WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

Records

:''Players in bold are still active with Central African Republic.''

Most appearances

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Africa Cup of Nations

African Nations Championship

Head-to-head record

''As of 6 June 2025 after match against ''

FIFA ranking history

End of each year only

Honours

Regional

* CEMAC Cup ** Champions (1): 2009 ** Runners-up (1): 2003 * UNIFAC Cup ** Runners-up (1): 1999

Friendly

* FIFA Series: Sri Lanka ** Champions (1): 2024

Notes

References

External links

Facebook
CFA Football Association Official profile
Central African Republic
at CAF
Central African Republic
at

{{National sports teams of the Central African Republic African national association football teams