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 the1992 Africa Cup of Nations, hosted bySenegal.[12] 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 theL'Amitié Tournament, which took place inSenegal in 1963, and it was a 2–1 defeat toLiberia. Soon after, they suffered a 6–2 loss toDahomey (nowBenin).
The Chad national football team never qualified for either theAfrica Cup of Nations or theWorld Cup. Their first participation in the World Cup qualifiers was in2000 when they were eliminated in thefirst round byLiberia, losing 0–1 at home, and playing 0–0 away. They were coached by Marcel Mao. Their next attempt was in2003, under Yann Djim, but they were eliminated byAngola. They won their first home game whenFrancis Oumar Belonga scored a hat trick, 3–1. They lost their away match 2–0, and went no further. Thequalifiers for the2010 World Cup brought more matches because they played in a group phase together withMali,Sudan andCongo. They finished at the bottom of the group, with six points (two wins and four losses).
Inthe qualifying competition for the2014 World Cup, Chad facedTanzania in a first-round playoff. Tanzania advanced despite shockingly losing 1–0 at home atDar es Salaam's National Stadium. The Taifa Stars were tipped for an emphatic victory over the visitors, having won the first-leg 2–1 inN'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.
In thequalifiers for the2015 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. ForwardRobin 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 aCEMAC Cup (Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa) title in 2014, after beatingCongo 3–2 in the final on December 14 inBata,Equatorial Guinea. French-bornEmmanuel Trégoat managed the team.[14] Their previous best was a second place in the 2005 edition, when they lost toCameroon in the final.[15]
Les Sao had a disappointing start into theirqualifying campaign for the2017 Africa Cup of Nations, losing 2–0 toNigeria and slumping to a 5–1 defeat at home againstEgypt. But it was then that things took a turn for the better, as coachMoudou Kouta, who was in charge of the side on an interim basis, took the team to an unexpected victory againstSierra Leone in the first round of thequalifiers for the2018 World Cup.Les Sao won 1–0[16] at home and even though they were beaten 2–1[17] in the return leg, they advanced to the second round of the qualifiers on away goals. Chad sensationally defeatedEgypt 1–0 at home in the second round before falling to a 4–0 defeat inAlexandria 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 thefollowing edition, meaning they would play no official games for over three years until September 2019, when Chad lost 1–3 at home toSudan in2022 FIFA World Cup qualification. A month laterLes Sao defeatedLiberia on penalties to reach the Group Stage of2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.
In March 2021, the Chadian government dissolved theChadian 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.[18] In April 2021, FIFA announced an indefinite ban from global football, citing the Chadian government's interference.[11] Due to this decision,CAF disqualified Chad from its participation in the2021 AFCON qualifiers.[19]
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 theFrench 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.[citation needed]