The Chad national football team (, ), nicknamed Les Sao (), represents Chad in international football and is controlled by the Chadian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country. The team has never qualified for the World Cup finals or Africa Cup of Nations. Home matches are played at the Maréchal Idriss Déby Itno Olympic Stadium. In April 2021, FIFA banned the Chad national football team from participating in global football over the Chadian government's interference with the Chadian Football Federation. However, the ban has since been rescinded.
History 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. Due to this decision, CAF disqualified Chad from its participation in the 2021 AFCON qualifiers.
Kits Kit provider Period Salamant 1974–1979 Mitre 1980–1992 Fila 1993–2000 Adidas 2001–2020 Kipsta 2020–2021 Anta 2021–2022 Macron 2022–2024 Puma 2024 14Fourteen 2025 YouyaPro 2025
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. In 1980, the away kit color changed into red shirt, blue shorts, and yellow socks.
Results and fixtures The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
2025
2026
Current staff PositionNameHead coach Raoul SavoyAssistant coaches Djaïd Soubirou Mahamat TchamadeGoalkeeping coach Idriss NgarouaMatch analyst Souleyman DjaffarFitness coach Ahmadou NagoumDoctor Dr. Abakar DjiourouPhysiotherapists Boubakar Hassane Yaya Tchadé Bakari Akou Issa NgariTeam coordinator Kader SougouTechnical director Moudou Kouta
Coaching history
Vasily Sokolov (1967–1971) Anzor Kavazashvili (1976–1977) Yakia Aoudou (1985) Moussarou Ngongolo (1998) Yann Djim Ngarlendana (1998) Douba Djibrine (1999) Marcel Mao (2000) Jean Paul Akono (2002–2003) Yann Djim Ngarlendana (2003) Yann Djim Ngarlendana (2005–2006) Moudou Kouta (2006) Natoltiga Okalah (2006–2007) Mahamat Adoum (2007) Natoltiga Okalah (2008) Sherif El-Khashab (2009–2011) Moudou Kouta (2011–2013) Emmanuel Trégoat (2014–2015) Rigobert Song (2015) Moudou Kouta (2015–2016) Djimtan Yatamadji (2019) Emmanuel Trégoat (2019–2020) Djimtan Yatamadji (2020–2023) Kévin Nicaise (2023–2025) Tahir Gardia (2025–present)
Players Current squad The following players have been called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group I matches against Mali and Central African Republic on 8 and 12 October 2025; respectively.
Caps and goals current as of 8 October 2025, after the match against Mali.
Recent call-ups The following players have been called up for Chad in the last 12 months.
Player records
Players in bold are still active with Chad.
Most appearances
RankNameCapsGoalsCareer1Ezechiel N'Douassel51142005–present2Léger Djimrangar38102007–20203Japhet N'Doram36131989–1997Casimir Ninga3652011–present5Armand Djerabé3402002–2011Hilaire Kédigui3452006–20157Karl Max Barthélémy3032007–20208Marius Mbaiam2832003–20159Constant Madtoingué2602011–202010Ahmat Abderamane2542019–present
Top goalscorers
RankNameGoalsCapsRatioCareer1Ezechiel N'Douassel14512005–present2Japhet N'Doram13361989–19973Léger Djimrangar10382007–20204Robert Lokossimbayé991999–20005Hilaire Kédigui6342006–20156Casimir Ninga5362011–present7Mahamat Labbo4172011–2022Ahmed Medego4242006–2015Ahmat Abderamane4252019–present10Gaius Doumde342005–2006Mahamat Hissein352003–2006Francis Oumar Belonga3121998–2007Misdongarde Betolngar3122006–2012Marius Mbaiam3282003–2015Hisseine Abana3151997–2002Ahmat Brahim3221999–2008Marius Mouandilmadji3232019–presentKarl Max Barthélémy3302007–2020
Competitive record FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition* 1930 to 1958Part of Part of 1962Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member 1966 to 1978Did not enterDid not enter 1982WithdrewWithdrew 1986 to 1998Did not enterDid not enter 2002Did not qualify201101 2006210133 20106204711 2014210122 2018420236 2022201113 202610019524 2030To be determinedTo be determined 2034Total−−−−−−−2863192150
Africa Cup of Nations Africa Cup of Nations recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition 1957Part of Part of 1959 1962Not affiliated to CAFNot affiliated to CAF 1963 1965Did not enterDid not enter 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992Did not qualify622267 1994Withdrew during qualifying200205 1996Did not enterDid not enter 1998 2000Did not qualify202011 2002210144 2004411246 2006210133 20086024314 20106204711 20128035720 2013210134 2015210133 2017Withdrew during qualifying300318 2019BannedBanned for withdrawing in 2017 2021Disqualified6015212 2023Did not qualify201123 2025823349 2027To be determinedTo be determined 2029Total−0/35−−−−−−6111153550110
Head-to-head records against other countries
OpponentGamesWinsDrawsLossesGoals ForGoals AgainstGoal Differential201114 −3210133 0101011 0110010 +1200202 −2200208 −8302102 −2103161219 −7200203 −3133461120 −9200217 −66114318 −15104421410 +4210133 0142481023 −13201123 −1201116 −5301215 −4200206 –6100101 −1201112 –1101022 0201113 –2100102 –2511324 −24103510 −5300328 −662131015 −55006314 −11220031 +2410347 –3110050 +5200207 −7312021 +18125615 −9100101 −14013210 −8100102 −2210122 0202022 0101000 0402214 −3 42 Countries 165 27 37 101 117 249 −132
Honours Regional CEMAC Cup Champions (1): 2014 Runners-up (1): 2015 UDEAC Championship Runners-up (2): 1986, 1987
See also List of Chad international footballers Football in Chad
References
External links Chadian Football Federation Chad at CAF Chad at FIFA
National football team of Chad picture