# Tamil Eelam national football team

The Tamil Eelam National Football Team (Tamil: தமிழீழத் தேசிய உதைபந்தாட்ட அணி) a representative football team for Tamil Eelam. The team, which consists of professional and semi-professional drawn from the Eelam Tamil diaspora community in Canada and Europe, was established in 2012 by the Tamileelam Football Association (TEFA). TEFA is affiliated to the Confederation of Independent Football Associations, an umbrella association for entities unaffiliated with FIFA therefore cannot compete for the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup since they are not affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). As of March 2020, the team was ranked 16th in the CONIFA World ranking.

## History

The Tamil Eelam Football Association was established by the Global Tamil Youth League on 8 April 2012. The Tamil Eelam national football team made its international debut at the 2012 VIVA World Cup held in Iraqi Kurdistan, finishing in 7th place. The team took part in the Tynwald Hill International Football Tournament History held on the Isle of Man in July 2013, finishing in 3rd place. The team took part in the 2014 ConIFA World Football Cup held in the Sápmi region.

## Tournament record
### World Cup record

| Year | Position | P | W | D | L | F | A |
| VIVA World Cup ||||||||
| 2006 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 2008 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 2009 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 2010 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 2012 | 7th | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 11 |
| ConIFA World Football Cup ||||||||
| 2014 | 11th | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 15 |
| 2016 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2018 | 14th | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 22 |
| 2020 | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 2024 | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| Total | Best: 7th | 14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 20 | 48 |
World Cup History :
| Year | Round | Date | Stadium | Score | Score | Score | Result |
| VIVA World Cup ||||||||
| 2012 |
| 2012 | Round 1 (Group B) | 5 June 2012 | Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil | Raetia | 1-0 | Tamil Eelam | Lose |
| 2012 | Round 1 (Group B) | 6 June 2012 | Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil | Tamil Eelam | 0-3 | Zanzibar | Lose |
| 2012 | 5th-8th Place Semi-Finals | 7 June 2012 | Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil | Occitania | 7-0 | Tamil Eelam | Lose |
| 2012 | 7th Place Match | 9 June 2012 | Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil | Tamil Eelam | 4-0 | Raetia | Win |
| ConIFA World Football Cup ||||||||
| 2014 |
| 2014 | Round 1 (Group A) | 2 June 2014 | Jämtkraft Arena, Östersund | Tamil Eelam | 0-2 | Arameans Suryoye | Lose |
| 2014 | Round 1 (Group A) | 3 June 2014 | Jämtkraft Arena, Östersund | Tamil Eelam | 0-9 | Kurdistan Region | Lose |
| 2014 | Placement Round 1 | 5 June 2014 | Jämtkraft Arena, Östersund | Tamil Eelam | 2-4 | Sápmi | Lose |
| 2014 | Placement Round 2 | 7 June 2014 | Jämtkraft Arena, Östersund | Tamil Eelam | 10-0 | Darfur | Win |
| 2018 |
| 2018 | Round 1 (Group A) | 31 May 2018 | Hayes Lane, Bromley | Barawa | 4-0 | Tamil Eelam | Lose |
| 2018 | Round 1 (Group A) | 2 June 2018 | Colston Avenue, Carshalton | Ellan Vannin | 2-0 | Tamil Eelam | Lose |
| 2018 | Round 1 (Group A) | 3 June 2018 | St Paul's Sports Ground, Rotherhithe | Tamil Eelam | 0-6 | Cascadia | Lose |
| 2018 | Placement Round 9th-16th | 5 June 2018 | Parkside, Aveley | Abkhazia | 6-0 | Tamil Eelam | Lose |
| 2018 | Placement Round 13th-16th | 7 June 2018 | Gander Green Lane, Sutton | Tamil Eelam | 4-3 | Tuvalu | Win |
| 2018 | Placement Round 13th-14th | 9 June 2018 | Parkside, Aveley | Matabeleland | 1-0 | Tamil Eelam | Lose |

### Asia Cup Record

CONIFA Asia Cup :
| Year | Position | P | W | D | L | F | A |
| 2023 | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| Total | Best: 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
ConIFA Asia Cup :
| Year | Round | Date | Stadium | Score | Score | Score | Result |
| 2023 | Group Stage | 5 August 2023 | Clube Olimpico Montijo | Tamil Eelam | 3-0 | Hmong FF | Win |
| 2023 | Group Stage | 7 August 2023 | Clube Olimpico Montijo | Tibet | 1-3 | Tamil Eelam | Win |
| 2023 | Final | 9 August 2023 | Clube Olimpico Montijo | Tamil Eelam | 3-1 | Hmong FF | Win |

### Tynwald Hill International Football Tournament

Tynwald Hill International Football Tournament :
| Year | Position | P | W | D | L | F | A |
| 2013 | 3rd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 8 |
| Total | Best: 3rd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 8 |
Tynwald Hill International Football Tournament History :
| Year | Round | Date | Stadium | Score | Score | Score | Result |
| 2013 |
| 2013 | Round 1 (Group 1) | 4 July 2013 | Mullen e Cloie, St John's | Sealand | 3 – 5 | Tamil Eelam | Win |
| 2013 | Round 1 (Group 1) | 6 July 2013 | Mullen e Cloie, St John's | Occitania | 5 – 0 | Tamil Eelam | Lose |
| 2013 | 3rd/4th Place Match | 7 July 2013 | Mullen e Cloie, St John's | Raetia | 0 – 5 | Tamil Eelam | Win |

## Current squad

The following players are members of the current squad. They have played in the recent CONIFA 2020 WFC qualification matches. The CONIFA 2020 World Football Cup has been cancelled due to the unprecedented disruption of the coronavirus pandemic.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
| 1 | 1GK | Praveen Ahilan | (1992-09-20) September 20, 1992 (age 32) | 2 | 0 | Canada |
| 12 | 1GK | Jerome Marusilin | (1994-12-14) 14 December 1994 (age 30) | 1 | 0 | NUSC |
| 13 | 2DF | Ninon Paskarajesudasan | (1993-09-15) 15 September 1993 (age 31) | 3 | 0 | France |
| 2 | 2DF | Keerthihan Kalaialagan | (1995-10-13) 13 October 1995 (age 29) | 3 | 0 | France |
| 25 | 2DF | Thomas Thevasahayam | (1995-06-09) 9 June 1995 (age 29) | 2 | 0 | France |
| 5 | 2DF | Sujeen Ravinchandran | (1993-08-20) 20 August 1993 (age 31) | 2 | 1 | FC Bourget |
| 23 | 2DF | Jey Siva | (1988-03-23) 23 March 1988 (age 36) | 3 | 0 | Harlow Town |
| 22 | 2DF | Majuran Panchalingam | (1987-01-27) 27 January 1987 (age 38) | 1 | 0 | Switzerland |
| 16 | 3MF | Steven Sacayaradjy | (1995-02-02) 2 February 1995 (age 30) | 3 | 1 | France |
| 8 | 3MF | Panushanth Kulenthiran | (1990-07-26) 26 July 1990 (age 34) | 11 | 8 | AC Senna Gloria |
| 6 | 3MF | Mayooran Chelliah | (1991-04-08) 8 April 1991 (age 33) | 9 | 1 | CS Eelavar |
| 17 | 3MF | Senthuran Uthayasuthan | (1992-09-30) 30 September 1992 (age 32) | 3 | 6 | France |
| 15 | 3MF | Janothan Perananthan | (1994-07-20) 20 July 1994 (age 30) | 6 | 1 | Surbiton Sports |
| 21 | 3MF | Shara Sivananthan | (1996-01-17) 17 January 1996 (age 29) | 1 | 0 | UK |
| 19 | 3MF | Kisanthan Nagarasa | (1998-12-28) 28 December 1998 (age 26) | 1 | 0 | Germany |
| 10 | 4FW | Gvinthan Navaneethakrishnan | (1990-03-28) 28 March 1990 (age 34) | 15 | 8 | SV Kickers Büchig |
| 7 | 4FW | Prashanth Ragavan | (1991-08-21) 21 August 1991 (age 33) | 15 | 12 | Drancy United |
| 9 | 4FW | Kasthuran Chelliah | (1990-08-09) 9 August 1990 (age 34) | 6 | 2 | WDS'19 |
| 14 | 4FW | Kirushan Confucious | (1995-06-16) 16 June 1995 (age 29) | 2 | 0 | France |
| 20 | 4FW | Agash Pathi | (1997-01-25) 25 January 1997 (age 28) | 1 | 2 | Stovner |