Although Kurdistan is not a member of
FIFA or the
AFC, Kurdistan has participated various international football tournaments. The
Iraq Football Association (IFA) attended a meeting held by the
N.F.-Board in June 2006. In December 2008, during the 5th General Meeting, Kurdistan was granted full membership to the N.F.-Board and their tournaments. The team played in the
2008 VIVA World Cup for the first time, finishing in the fourth place after a 3–1 loss to
Sápmi. Their first and only win in the 2008 tournament came against
Provence. In 2011 the Kurdish team took part the
Palestine International Cup and defeated
Mauritania and
Tunisia U22. Kurdistan eventually became champions on home turf in the
2012 Viva World Cup, defeating
Northern Cyprus 2–1 in front of 22,000 fans. On 9 September 2024, it was announced that Kurdistan had been suspended by CONIFA. ==Official Kurdistan FA Emblem==