The Burkina Faso national football team () represents Burkina Faso in men's international football and is controlled by the Burkinabé Football Federation. They were known as the Upper Volta national football team until 1984, when Upper Volta became Burkina Faso. They finished fourth in the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations, when they hosted the tournament. Their best ever finish in the tournament was the 2013 edition, reaching the final.
History Their first international match was played on April 13, 1960, in the Jeux de la Communauté in Madagascar and ended with a 5–4 victory against Gabon.
Africa Cup of Nations The country made their first appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations in 1978, but it was not until 1996 that they returned to the biennial tournament. They subsequently qualified for five consecutive tournaments between 1996 and 2004, reaching the semi-finals under coach Philippe Troussier when the tournament was held on home soil in 1998.
Burkina Faso played in Group B of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations alongside Ghana and Ivory Coast in a three-team group due to Togo's withdrawal. Although they drew their first match against Ivory Coast and needed just a draw against Ghana to progress, the Burkinabe lost 1–0 and failed to qualify for the knock-out stage of the tournament. Burkina Faso took part in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, losing all three of their matches and subsequently firing coach Paulo Duarte. Belgian coach Paul Put was announced as new coach in March 2012. Burkina Faso finished first of their group, but lost to Nigeria in the final of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
The team would earn third place at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. The team made the semifinals of AFCON in 2022. The team beat Tunisia 1-0 in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, the team lost to Senegal 1-3. Senegal went on to win the Championship. The Burkina Faso team lost in the 3rd place match to Cameroon on penalty kicks 5-3.
World Cup qualifying Burkina Faso first entered the World Cup in the 1978 qualifying tournament, beating Mauritania in the preliminary round before losing 1–3 against Ivory Coast. They next entered World Cup qualifying in 1990, losing in the first round to Libya 2–3. Burkina Faso withdrew from the 1994 competition but returned in 1998, beating Mauritania again to make it to the final qualifying group stage, however they failed to obtain a single point, finishing bottom of their group. They beat Ethiopia in 2002 to again make it to the qualifying group stage, but did not advance, only winning one game against Malawi.
The team had a strong showing in the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign, reaching the final round of qualifying where it faced Algeria. It won 3–2 in Ouagadougou, but lost 1–0 in Blida. Despite the 3-3 aggregate, Burkina Faso narrowly missed out on the 2014 World Cup due to the away goals rule.
Nickname The team is nicknamed Les Etalons, which means "The Stallions". It is in reference to the legendary horse of Princess Yennenga. Supporters of the team at times include a percussion band, which often mimics the sounds of galloping horses at matches.The team supporters are known for their colorful attire at matches.
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
2027
Coaching staff PositionNameHead coach Amir AbdouAssistant coaches Bouziane Benaraïbi Jonathan ZongoGoalkeeping coach Aurélien YaméogoFitness coach Julien RedonMatch analyst Ismaïla BoussoumaDoctor Dr. Cheick TiendrebéogoPhysiotherapists Moussa Kiemdé Christophe Zongo Boubacarr Tapsoba Évariste NikiémaTeam coordinator Charles KaboréTechnical director Kamou Malo
Coaching history
Otto Pfister (1976–1978) Heinz-Peter Überjahn (1988–1990) Idrissa Traoré (1992–1996) Calixte Zagre (1996) Ivan Vutov (1996–1997) Malik Jabir (1997) Philippe Troussier (1997–1998) Didier Notheaux (1998–1999) René Taelman (2000) Sidiki Diarra (2000–2001) Oscar Fulloné (2001–2002) Jacques Yaméogo & Pihouri Weboanga (2002) Jean-Paul Rabier (2002–2004) Ivica Todorov (2004–2005) Bernard Simondi (2005–2006) Idrissa Traoré (2006–2007) Didier Notheaux & Sidiki Diarra (2007) Paulo Jorge Rebelo Duarte (2008–2012) Paul Put (2012–2015) Gernot Rohr (2015) Paulo Duarte (2015–2019) Kamou Malo (2019–2022) Hubert Velud (2022–2024) Brama Traoré (2024–2026) Amir Abdou (2026–)
Players Current squad The following players were called up for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group F matches against Benin and Central African Republic and the friendly match against Argentina on 25, 28 September and 3 October 2026; respectively.
Caps and goals correct as of 28 September 2026, after the match against Central African Republic.
Recent call-ups The following players have also been called up for Burkina Faso in the last twelve months.
Notes WD = Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue. INJ = Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. PRE = Preliminary squad. RET = Player has retired from international football. SUS = Suspended from the national team.
Records
Players in bold are still active with Burkina Faso.
Most appearances
RankPlayerCapsGoalsCareer 1 Charles Kaboré 102 4 2006–2021 2 Steeve Yago 96 1 2013–present 3 Issoufou Dayo 92 9 2012–present 4 Bertrand Traoré 91 22 2011–present 5 Jonathan Pitroipa 84 19 2006–20196 Moumouni Dagano 83 34 1998–2013 Bakary Koné 83 0 2006–2019 8 Aristide Bancé 79 24 2003–2019 9 Hervé Koffi 72 0 2016–present 10 Saïdou Panandétiguiri 66 2 2002–2013
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerGoalsCapsRatioCareer 1 Moumouni Dagano 34 83 1998–2013 2 Aristide Bancé 24 79 2003–2019 3 Bertrand Traoré 22 91 2011–present 4 Alain Traoré 21 65 2006–2021 5 Jonathan Pitroipa 19 84 2006–2019 6 Lassina Traoré 15 34 2017–present7 Mamadou Zongo 13 30 1996–2013 Préjuce Nakoulma 13 53 2012–2019 9 Dango Ouattara 12 40 2021–present10 Amadou Touré 10 30 1998–2006 Oumar Barro 10 48 1996–2003
Competitive record FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition1930 to 1958Part of Part of as 1962Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member1966 to 1974Did not enterDid not enter 1978Did not qualify412144 1982Did not enterDid not enteras 1986Did not enterDid not enter 1990Did not qualify210123 1994WithdrewWithdrew 1998 Did not qualify8116917 2002 82241110 2006104151413 2010129122416 20148503107 20188332138 20226330124 202610631238 2030To be determinedTo be determined 2034Total7635162512290
Africa Cup of Nations
Africa Cup of Nations recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition 1957Part of Part of 1959Played as Player as 1962Not affiliated to CAFNot affiliated to CAF 1963 1965Did not enterDid not enter 1968Did not qualify4004210 1970WithdrewWithdrew 1972 1974Did not qualify200219 1976Did not enterDid not enter 1978Group stage8th300329200214 1980Did not enterDid not enter 1982Did not qualify201118Played as Played as 1984Did not enterDid not enter 1986 1988 1990Did not qualify210113 199284131013 1994WithdrewWithdrew 1996Group stage15th300339413054 1998Fourth place4th622289Qualified as hosts 2000Group stage15th301248422085 200213th301224843173 200414th3012166420122 2006Did not qualify104151413 20086114512 2010Group stage13th201101129122416 201215th3003264310123 2013Runners-up 2nd623173210123 2015Group stage16th301214632184 2017Third place3rd633083641162 2019Did not qualify631285 2021Fourth place4th7232910633062 2023Round of 1613th411246632185 202511th4202456312107 2027To be determinedTo be determinedTotalRunners-up14/35561217275583112532633151133
African Nations Championship African Nations Championship recordAppearances: 3YearRoundPosition 2009Did not qualify 2011 2014Group stage13th301224 2016Did not qualify 2018Group stage11th302113 2020Group stage9th311132 2022Did not qualify 2024To be determinedTotalGroup stage 3/8914469
African Games African Games recordYearResultPldWDLGFGA 19738th3003410Total1/4
West African Nations Cup West African Nations Cup recordYearRoundPosition* 1982Did not enter 1983 1984Fourth place4th513167 1986Fourth place4th611427 1987Group stage5th310234TotalFourth place3/5143471118
WAFU Nations Cup WAFU Nations Cup recordYearRoundPosition* 2010Fourth place4th520398 2011Did not enter 2013Group stage5th301235TotalFourth place2/382151213
Honours Continental Africa Cup of Nations Runners-up (1): 2013 Third place (1): 2017
Regional UEMOA Tournament Champions (1): 2013 West African Nations Cup Third place (1): 1982
Friendly Mapinduzi Cup Runners-up (1): 2025
Summary Competition TotalCAF African Cup of Nations0112Total 0 1 1 2
References
External links
L'actualité du Burkina Burkina Faso at CAF Burkina Faso at FIFA