Tibet national football team

The Tibet national football team is a football team representing the cultural region of Tibet and is organised by the Tibetan National Football Association (TNFA), an organization of exiled Tibetans. Its current team manager is Kelsang Dhondup.

Tibet national football team
Nickname(s)"The Forbiddens"
AssociationTNFA
ConfederationConIFA
Head coachPenpa Tsering
Most capsTsering Wangchuk
Top scorerTashi Samphel (5)
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Tibet 1–4 Greenland 
(Copenhagen, Denmark; 30 June 2001)
Biggest win
 Tibet 12–2 Western Sahara 
(Marseille, France; 28 June 2013)
Biggest defeat
 Tibet 0–22 Provence 
(Marseille, France; 23 June 2013)
ConIFA World Football Cup
Appearances1 (first in 2018)
Best result12th, 2018

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 first Tibet team, c. 1936

The Forbidden Team

The first international game the team played against a non-Asian team was against Greenland, which took place in Denmark. The team was followed by a documentary film crew, during the process of forming the team, practices, the match, and everything in between. The documentary was named 'The Forbidden Team'. To form the team, a selective tournament was held in Dehradun, India. It featured all the various Tibetan football teams around India.

After the team was selected, Team Tibet headed to Dharamsala to begin their practice sessions where Jens Espense was hired by the Tibetan Football Association to coach the team for the match. He had only a month to get them conditioned and ready to play and the players were not even at a minor league level. Moreover, the pitch was in horrible condition and only half of it could be used as it was located on a public road. During practice, Karma Nyodup was working to get all documentation done for the flight to Greenland. Numbers of players were soon dropped due to improper travel documents.

After a month had passed, the team flew to Denmark for their first international game, which was organized by Michael Nybrandt. He was also advocating Tibet when the Chinese government raised their cause for concern. China 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 on 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.[1]

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 and they suffered their biggest defeat. The first game was against Tajikistan on 19 November 2006 where they lost 3–0. On 20 November, Tibet played the Crimean Tatars, which they lost 1–0. Finally on 21 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 selection will finish 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.[2]

Current squad

The following players were called up to the squad for the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup in London.

Head Coach: Penpa Tsering

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Tenzin Samdup (1992-12-23) 23 December 1992 7 0 Real Kashmir
21 1GK Sangye Gyatso (1987-05-06) 6 May 1987 2 0
23 2DF Dawa Tashi (1987-04-16) 16 April 1987 6 0 Unattached
3 2DF Tenzin Bhakdo (1996-08-05) 5 August 1996 3 1 DYSA Mundgod
5 2DF Gelek Wangchuk (1992-09-15) 15 September 1992 3 0 Unattached
13 2DF Tenzingh Dhondhen (1994-12-13) 13 December 1994 2 1 Unattached
15 2DF Tenzin Gelek (1989-05-10) 10 May 1989 2 0 Unattached
8 2DF Tenzin Dhondup (1986-09-17) 17 September 1986 0 0 Shillong United
18 Tenzin Yougyal (1993-08-12) 12 August 1993 5 2 CSV Bochum
19 2DF Tenzin Choepak (1996-01-07) 7 January 1996 0 0 Unattached
6 3MF BK Narayan (1991-11-25) 25 November 1991 7 0 Unattached
14 3MF Karma Tsewang (1988-01-10) 10 January 1988 2 1 Unattached
4 3MF Tenzin Loedup (1991-12-21) 21 December 1991 2 0 Unattached
2 3MF Thupten Tsering (1994-01-17) 17 January 1994 0 0 Unattached
12 3MF Kelsang Lungkara (1995-05-09) 9 May 1995 0 0 George Brown Huskies
17 3MF Ruden Tshering Tashi Dorjee Bhutia (1991-11-12) 12 November 1991 0 0 Unattached
11 4FW Kalsang Topgyal (1996-12-24) 24 December 1996 3 1 Gulladhalla FC
7 4FW Tsering Chomphel (1991-11-18) 18 November 1991 2 0 Unattached
9 4FW Pema Lhundup (1996-02-11) 11 February 1996 2 0 Gangtok FC
10 4FW Tenzin Thardoe (1998-03-15) 15 March 1998 2 0 TDL FC
22 4FW Tenzin Tsering (1995-11-16) 16 November 1995 2 0 Rabgayling FC
20 4FW Tashi Samphel (1987-05-06) 6 May 1987 1 5 Gangtok FC
16 4FW Tenzin Norbu Tekhang (1996-06-13) 13 June 1996 0 0 Dhondupling FC

Selected Internationals
Date Venue Opponent Competition Result
28 June 2013 Marseille, France Western SaharaInternational Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes12–2
24 June2013 Marseille, France ProvenceInternational Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes0–22
23 June 2013 Marseille, France QuebecInternational Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes0–21
7 May 2008 Milan Padania2–13
19 April 2008 Breda, North Brabant JEKA Breda1–1
17 April 2008 Maassluis, South Holland VDL-Maassluis0–5
2 November 2007 Paljor Stadium, Gangtok, Sikkim Bhutan0–3
31 October 2007 Paljor Stadium, Gangtok, Sikkim Bhutan2–2
4 August 2007 Kirori Mal College, New Delhi Delhi XI6–0
21 November 2006 Dr. Fazil Kucuk Stadium, Famagusta Northern CyprusELF Cup 20060–10
20 November 2006 Zafer Stadium, Güzelyurt CrimeaELF Cup 20060–1
19 November 2006 Zafer Stadium, Güzelyurt Tajikistan (futsal team)ELF Cup 20060–3
30 May 2006 Millerntor-Stadion, Hamburg FC St. Pauli2006 FIFI Wild Cup0–7
31 May 2006 Millerntor-Stadion, Hamburg Gibraltar2006 FIFI Wild Cup0–5
10 October 2003 Paljor Stadium, Gangtok, Sikkim Sikkim1–2
14 July 2001 Germany Monaco1–2
30 Jun 2001 Copenhagen, Denmark Greenland1–4

General Secretaries of the TNFA
Name period
Kelsang Dhondup 2001–2017
Passang Dorjee 2017–In progress
gollark: As an added bonus, they're sterile.
gollark: Oh, and why have a holographic doctor thing anyway except possibly for making patients feel better? Just holographically summon any necessary medical tool on demand.
gollark: They don't actually mark out the edge of a volume as much as... be within it?
gollark: So not really *between*, then?
gollark: Make the entire interior of your ship into a holodeck.

References
  1. Sarmah, Bhargab. "Keeping the flame alive: The Forbidden Team's story".
  2. Tibet National Football Team Qualifies for CONIFA World Football Cup 2018
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