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List of men's national association football teams

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This is a list of the men's national association football teams in the world. It consists of all association football teams representing recognized and semi-recognized sovereign states, as well as other representative teams which are members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the world's football governing body, or a FIFA-affiliated continental confederation. Excluded from the list are teams representing sub-national entities that are not members of the organisations mentioned above, or teams representing unrecognized states.

Members of FIFA affiliated confederations

Map of the World with the six confederations.
Current members of UAFA

This section lists the current:

  • 209 men's national football teams affiliated to FIFA, through their national football associations.
  • 13 men's national football teams who are members or associate members of one of the FIFA affiliated continental confederations, but who are not members of FIFA.[1]

FIFA members are eligible to enter the FIFA World Cup and matches between them are recognized as official international matches. Based on their match results over the previous four-year period, the FIFA World Rankings, published monthly by FIFA, compare the relative strengths of the national teams. National teams who are members (full or associate) of their confederation, but do not have membership of FIFA, are able to compete in confederation championships, but their matches are not full internationals.

The six confederations are:

FIFA runs the World Cup as a tournament for national teams to find the world champion. Each confederation also runs its own championship to find the best team from among its members:

UAFA runs a semi-regular tournament for its members, the Arab Nations Cup

*The AFC operates a second international tournament, the AFC Challenge Cup. This is for those national teams that are classed as emerging nations by the AFC. Winners of the Challenge Cup receive an automatic spot at the next Asian Cup
**The CAF operates a second international tournament, The African Nations Championship (sometimes referred to as African Championship of Nations or CHAN) which is played between the best national teams of Africa, exclusively featuring players who are active in the national championships and qualified to play in the ongoing season. Expatriate players, regardless of where they play, even in Africa, may not qualify to take part in the African Championship of Nations.[2][3]

The current holders of the World Cup are marked by a ♠. The current holders of each confederation's championship are marked by a ♣.

AFC (Asia)

Due to the geographical size of Asia, the AFC is subdivided into four sub-federations:

1: Formerly member of OFC (1966–2006)
2: Member of UAFA
3: Official name used by FIFA and AFC for People's Republic of China
4: Official name used by FIFA and AFC for Republic of China (Taiwan); Formerly member of OFC (1975–1989)
5: Official names used by FIFA and AFC; official names used by EAFF are "Hong Kong, China" (a) and "Macau, China" (b)
6: Official names used by FIFA and AFC for Democratic People's Republic of Korea (a) and Republic of Korea (b)
7: Associate member of AFC but not FIFA member
8: Formerly member of OFC (2005-2009)
9: Official name used by FIFA and AFC for national team representing the State of Palestine

CAF (Africa)

Due to the geographical size of Africa, CAF is divided into five regional federations:

1: Member of UAFA
2: Official names used by FIFA and CAF for the Republic of the Congo (a) and by FIFA for the Democratic Republic of Congo (b); CAF uses RD Congo
3: Associate member of CAF but not FIFA member

CONCACAF (North and Central America and Caribbean)

The CONCACAF federation is divided into three regional federations that have responsibility for part of the region's geographical area:

1: Full member of CONCACAF but not FIFA member

CONMEBOL (South America)

OFC (Oceania)

1: Associate member of OFC but not FIFA member
2: Provisional member of NF-Board
3: Formerly member of AFC (1964-1966)
4: Official name used by FIFA and OFC for French Polynesia

UEFA (Europe)

1: Official name used by FIFA and UEFA for Bosnia and Herzegovina
2: Official name used by FIFA and UEFA for the Republic of Macedonia
3: Full member of UEFA but not FIFA member
4: Formerly member of AFC (1954–1974); Joined UEFA in 1994
5: Formerly member of AFC (1992–2002)
6: Official name used by FIFA and UEFA for Ireland

National teams not affiliated to FIFA confederations

These national football teams are affiliated to neither FIFA, nor a continental confederation. The teams are not eligible to enter the FIFA World Cup or their continental confederation championships. Teams who are affiliated with FIFA may not compete against these sides without FIFA's prior permission.[5]

This section lists:

It also discusses the status of football in other fully or limited recognized sovereign states which have never had active national football teams.

Unaffiliated sovereign states

The football teams that represent the following sovereign states are not members of FIFA or their local confederation:

1: Member of the FIFA Small Nations Working Group[6]
2: The football federation of Monaco was one of the founder members of the NF-Board in 2001, but resigned from the organization in 2010[7] Monaco joined ConIFA on its formation in 2013[8]
3: There has never been a "United Kingdom national football team" participating in recognized internationals, although three friendly matches have been played under this name. A team representing the entire United Kingdom has only ever competed in the Olympic Games (most recently in the 2012 Games) under the name "Great Britain"; otherwise, the UK is represented by separate teams for each of its constituent countries
4: The Palau team has been inactive since 1998. It joined as an associate member of OFC in 2002, but this membership expired. In 2013 the Palau Football Association confirmed an intention to apply for membership of the East Asian Football Federation.[9]

Unaffiliated states with limited international recognition

Two states with limited international recognition are full members of FIFA and are listed above: Palestine and the Republic of China, the latter under the name "Chinese Taipei" due to the objections of the government of the People's Republic of China. Six further states with limited international recognition have active teams which are not currently affiliated with FIFA or their local confederation:

Both Kosovo and Northern Cyprus were members of FIFA's recent unaffiliated nations working group,[6] though the activities of this are currently suspended.[10] Kosovo's friendly matches are FIFA-sanctioned as of January 2014, meaning that FIFA affiliated teams may play them without sanction.[11] The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic team had played just one game between 1988 and 2011, and was most recently active during 2012. [12][13]

The three states with limited international recognition in the Caucasus - Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia - first competed in matches against each other in 2012 and 2013.[14][15] All three participated in the 2014 ConIFA World Football Cup, the first tournament organised by ConIFA.[16][17][18] These sides remain unrecognized by FIFA,[19] but are, along with Northern Cyprus, members of ConIFA.

Others

FIFA's entry criteria state that:

Any association which is responsible for organising and supervising football in its country may become a member of FIFA. In this context, the expression 'country' shall refer to an independent state recognised by the international community.

— FIFA, Fifa Statutes May 2008

The main condition for joining FIFA is thus general international recognition as a nation state and membership of the UN.[20] However, this rule is not applied retroactively,[21] and 24 of FIFA's members are not internationally recognised sovereign nations.[22]

Non-sovereign associations may still join FIFA in specific circumstances. In particular, an exception is made for associations representing a dependency, which may apply for membership if authorised by the association in its parent state.[10][21] Most recently, this was allowed for New Caledonia in 2004; this was on the grounds of the distance of New Caledonia from its 'parent' nation, France.[23] By contrast, both Zanzibar and Gibraltar – who would compete in the same confederation as their parent state – have had their application to join FIFA rejected. [23] While Gibraltar's FIFA bid was rejected, a 2011 ruling issued by the Court of Arbitration for Sport stated that UEFA "must do everything in its power to allow Gibraltar entry into the organisation by June 2012".[10] Gibraltar was voted in as a member of UEFA in May 2013, [24] although it is unknown if they now intend to apply to join FIFA.

A variety of other national, separatist, sub-national and pseudo-national teams compete in football matches outside of FIFA's jurisdiction.[23] In 2001, the N.F.-Board (Nouvelle Fédération-Board), was founded to promote international football among sovereign nations, unrecognised nations, regions and stateless peoples that are not members of FIFA, and to assist in their possible future membership of FIFA. A total of 37 nations were listed on the N.F. Board's website as of August 2013, [25] although at least one of these (Monaco) is no longer a member. [26] In 2013, a new organisation, the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (ConIFA), was founded to carry on this work, with a number of its members having previously been affiliated to the NF-Board. ConIFA was founded with the aim of regularising non-FIFA international football, by having a two-year international tournament cycle, with the ConIFA World Football Cup in even numbered years, and continental tournaments in odd-numbered years.[27]

The nature of these other teams is heterogeneous: whilst some such as Catalonia, Galicia or Tibet play semi-regularly, often against FIFA member nations, others are much less active. For a full list of teams that have been documented, see the list of non-national representative teams in men's football.

Former national football teams

These national teams no longer exist due to the dissolution of the nation or territory that they represented.

Preceding team Successor team(s)
(inherited position/results) 		Other successor team(s) Notes
 Czechoslovakia  Czech Republic[28]  Slovakia Represented Czechoslovakia until its dissolution into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.[29] Competed as Representation of Czechs and Slovaks for the remainder of their 1994 World Cup qualifying games.[30]
 Saar  West Germany Represented the Saarland Protectorate from 1950 to 1956 before its union with the Federal Republic of Germany.[31]
 East Germany  Germany Represented East Germany between 1952 and 1990, before reunification with West Germany. [32]
 Ireland  Northern Ireland  Republic of Ireland Represented Ireland until the secession of the Irish Free State from the United Kingdom in 1922. The team continued to be known as Ireland, selecting some players from the Irish Free State, later the Republic of Ireland, until 1953 when it was renamed Northern Ireland to reflect its geographic mandate.
 Malaya  Malaysia Represented the Federation of Malaya until its union with Sarawak, North Borneo and Singapore to form Malaysia in 1963. Singapore had a separate national team from 1953 and gained independence in 1965.
 Tanganyika  Tanzania  Zanzibar Represented Tanganyika until its union with Zanzibar as Tanzania in 1964. Zanzibar is an associate member of CAF.
 North Vietnam  Vietnam Represented North Vietnam from 1949 till its union with South Vietnam in 1975.
 South Vietnam  Vietnam Represented South Vietnam from 1949 till its union with North Vietnam in 1975.
 North Yemen  Yemen Represented North Yemen from 1965 till its union with South Yemen in 1990.
 South Yemen  Yemen Represented South Yemen from 1965 till its union with North Yemen in 1990.
 United Arab Republic  Egypt  Syria Represented the United Arab Republic from 1958 to 1961 until the secession of Syria. Was considered a continuation of the previous Egypt national football team, which became its successor team. The team continued to be known as the United Arab Republic until 1970.
 Soviet Union  CIS  Estonia
 Latvia
 Lithuania 		Represented the Soviet Union from 1924 until its dissolution in 1991. This was considered a continuation of the team that had previously represented the Russian Empire.
 CIS  Russia  Armenia
 Azerbaijan
 Belarus
 Georgia
 Kazakhstan
 Kyrgyzstan
 Moldova
 Tajikistan
 Turkmenistan
 Ukraine
 Uzbekistan 		Represented the Commonwealth of Independent States and Georgia in 1992 until the creation of separate national teams for its constituent nations.
 Yugoslavia Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Federal Republic of Yugoslavia  Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Croatia
 North Macedonia
 Slovenia 		Represented Yugoslavia between 1920 and 1992, before the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia into Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Slovenia
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

later renamed Serbia and Montenegro

 Serbia  Montenegro Represented the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, known as Serbia and Montenegro after 2003, between 1992 and 2006 when it was split into Serbia and Montenegro
 Netherlands Antilles  Curaçao  Bonaire
 Sint Maarten 		Represented the Netherlands Antilles until the dissolution of the country in 2010. Formerly known as "Curaçao", this name was restored in March 2011 when the new constituent country of Curaçao took the Netherlands Antilles' place in FIFA and CONCACAF. The teams representing Bonaire and Sint Maarten are full or associate members of CONCACAF, but not of FIFA.

New names

In addition to the above, other nations have been renamed:

1: Still commonly called Ivory Coast in English-speaking countries

See also

References

  1. ^ These are displayed in the main list in italics.
  2. ^ African Nations Championship
  3. ^ http://www.cafonline.com/competition/african-nations-championship_2011
  4. ^ Holders Mazembe remain standing FIFA.com 10–11–10. Accessed 13–10–11
  5. ^ "FIFA Statutes: July 2012 Edition" (PDF). FIFA. pp. Article 83. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  6. ^ a b FIFA working group to help small unrecognized nations and territories – PlayTheGame.org 06–05–10. Accessed 13–10–11
  7. ^ Monaco quits NF Board
  8. ^ Monaco, ConIFA
  9. ^ "Interview #6 (April 2013): Palau Football Association president Charles Mitchell". Non-FIFA Football. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  10. ^ a b c CAS rules in favour of Gibraltar – Outcasts Blog. 05–09–11. Accessed 13–10–11
  11. ^ "FIFA ExCo makes reform progress and Audit and Compliance Committee appointment". Media Release. FIFA.com. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  12. ^ "Establishment of Saharawi national football team (Minister of Youth and Sport)". SPS. 25 March 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  13. ^ "Results". VIVA World Cup. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  14. ^ "Abkhazia founds national football team". Vestnik Kavkaza. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  15. ^ "South Ossetia make international bow in Abkhazia loss". Non-FIFA Football. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  16. ^ "Nagorno-Karabakh FA". ConIFA. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  17. ^ "Abkhazia FA". ConIFA. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  18. ^ "South Ossetia FA". ConIFA. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  19. ^ "FIFA and UEFA do not recognize Abkhaz football". Vestnik Kavaza.net. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  20. ^ Outcasts: The Lands That FIFA Forgot Menary, Steven. 25–08–10. Accessed 27–09–10
  21. ^ a b Fifa Statutes FIFA, May 2008
  22. ^ The affiliated non-sovereign football teams are:
    Key

    1. Unincorporated unorganized territory of the United States
    2. British overseas territory
    3. Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
    4. Sovereign state with limited international recognition
    5. Associated state of New Zealand
    6. Constituent country of the United Kingdom
    7. Constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark
    8. Unincorporated organized territory of the United States
    9. Special administrative region of China
    10. Overseas collectivity of France

  23. ^ a b c Menary, Steven. 2007. When is a National Team not a National Team? Sport in Society 10(2), 195–204
  24. ^ "European Football - Gibraltar admitted as UEFA member". Eurosport. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  25. ^ "Football Associations". NF Board. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  26. ^ "Monaco quits NF Board". Outcasts Blog. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  27. ^ "ConIFA aim to lead non-FIFA football forward". Back Page Football. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  28. ^ "Czech Republic Country Info". FIFA.com. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  29. ^ "Czech Republic - Profile". FIFA. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  30. ^ "World Cup Ends On Belgian Note". Prague Post. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  31. ^ "Saarland 1950-1955". When Saturday Comes. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  32. ^ "Germany: When East and West became one". FIFA. Retrieved 18 July 2013.

Sources

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