The
Chadian Football Federation was founded in 1962 and became affiliated to
FIFA and
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, hosted by
Senegal. 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 in 1963, and it was a 2–1 defeat to
Liberia. Soon after, they suffered a 6–2 loss to
Dahomey (now
Benin). The Chad national football team never qualified for either the
Africa Cup of Nations or the
World Cup. Their first participation in the World Cup qualifiers was in
2000 when they were eliminated in the
first round by
Liberia, losing 0–1 at home, and playing 0–0 away. They were coached by Marcel Mao. Their next attempt was in
2003, under Yann Djim, but they were eliminated by
Angola. They won their first home game when
Francis Oumar Belonga scored a hat trick, 3–1. They lost their away match 2–0, and went no further. The
qualifiers for the
2010 World Cup brought more matches because they played in a group phase together with
Mali,
Sudan 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 in a first-round playoff. Tanzania advanced despite shockingly losing 1–0 at home at
Dar es Salaam'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. 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 in the
qualifiers for the
2013 Africa Cup of Nations. Chad won the first leg match 3–2, but lost 2–0 in
Blantyre to be eliminated with an aggregate score of 4–3. In the
qualifiers for the
2015 Africa Cup of Nations, 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. French-born
Emmanuel Trégoat managed the team. Their previous best was a second place in the 2005 edition, when they lost to
Cameroon 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 and slumping to a 5–1 defeat at home against
Egypt. 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 in the first round of the
qualifiers for the
2018 World Cup.
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 1–0 at home in the second round before falling to a 4–0 defeat in
Alexandria 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 in
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification. A month later
Les Sao defeated
Liberia on penalties to reach the Group Stage of
2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification. 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. == Kits ==