The Chad national football team (Arabic: منتخب تشاد لكرة القدم, French: Équipe du Tchad de football), nicknamed Les Sao (Arabic: ساو), represents Chad in international football and is controlled by the Chadian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country.
Football is by far the most popular sport in Chad. Approximately 30% of the people in Chad are considered association football fans. Many of top Chadian footballers have played professionally in France. According to one source, Nambatingue Tokomon, known as "Toko", played for renowned French soccer clubs, including Paris St. Germain, in the 1970s and 1980s. Abdoulay Karateka also played for Paris St. Germain. Ndoram Japhet played for Nantes and Monaco in the 1990s.
Early Years and World Cup Attempts
Chad's national football team did not play a big role in world football until the 1990s. 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.
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.
2014 World Cup Qualifiers
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.
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Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers
Chad played against Malawi in the qualifiers for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. 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.
CEMAC Cup Victory
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.
2017 Africa Cup of Nations and 2018 World Cup Qualifiers
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.
In March 2016, the Chadian Football Federation announced they were withdrawing from the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification due to financial problems.
Ghana vs Chad (5-0)-WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS ALL GOALS & HIGHLIGHTS
Read also: Mali vs. Chad: Football History
2022 FIFA World Cup Qualification and FIFA Ban
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.
In March 2021, the Chadian government stopped the Chadian Football Federation from working. This led to FIFA banning Chad from global football in April 2021. This ban was because governments are not allowed to interfere with how a country's football team is run.
Team Colors
During the independence of Chad, the team competed in international matches and played in a blue shirt, blue shorts, and red socks. These are the national colours of the French flag. In the 1970s, Chad's home colors changed to blue-yellow-red. Their first away kit in 1960 was white shirt, red shorts, and white socks.
Stadium
The Stade Omnisports Idriss Mahamat Ouya is currently the largest stadium in Chad by capacity.
Read also: A Look at Madagascar and Chad's Football Battles
