Chinese Taipei national football team

The Chinese Taipei national football team () represents Taiwan (the Republic of China) in international football and is controlled by the Chinese Taipei Football Association. Despite never qualifying for the FIFA World Cup, Chinese Taipei, then known as Republic of China, reached the semi-finals of the 1960 and 1968 AFC Asian Cups, finishing third in the former. The side also won gold at the 1954 and 1958 Asian Games, although the players in the team originated from British Hong Kong.

History

Formation and early success (1954–1970)

What is now known as Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) was originally established in mainland China in 1924 as the China Football Association (). It joined FIFA in 1931. Following the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the association relocated to Taiwan along with the Republic of China government. On 14 June 1952, FIFA acknowledged that the All-China Sports Federation (), which later established Chinese Football Association () was part of, on People's Republic of China (PRC), not the China Football Association located on Taiwan, was the recognized authority over Chinese Football with their membership dating to 1924. Therefore, all the achievements and records of the ROC team up to 1949 were inherited by the PRC counterpart.

Taiwan was separately admitted as a member of FIFA in June 1954 over the objections of the CFA and the PRC government at the 29th FIFA Congress in Bern. and competed internationally under the names of both "Republic of China" (in AFC and IOC-organized tournaments; Code: ROC) and "Taiwan" (in FIFA-organized tournaments; Code:TAI). Due to this inconsistency, from 1954 to 1978, the national team refused to participate in any FIFA-organized events, like FIFA World Cup and its qualifications, where they couldn't compete under the name of "Republic of China". Only in 1982 did the team fully adopt the name "Chinese Taipei".

The national team achieved its greatest success during this early period. It qualified for the 1960 AFC Asian Cup and finished third, its best performance in the tournament to date. In the same year, the team also participated in the football tournament at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Notably, several players in the squad were originally from Hong Kong, despite Hong Kong having its own national team at the time.

In 1970, an agreement between the CTFA and the Hong Kong Football Association ended the eligibility of Hong Kong-based players to represent Taiwan. The national team's performance declined significantly thereafter, and it has not qualified for the AFC Asian Cup or the FIFA World Cup since.

Participation in Oceania Football Confederation (1975–1989) Due to political conflicts with the PRC, Chinese Taipei was expelled from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Asian Games. As a result, from 1975 to 1989, Chinese Taipei competed as a member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). During this period, the team struggled to achieve significant results on the international stage.

Return to AFC and modern developments (1989–present) Chinese Taipei was re-admitted to the AFC in 1989 and to the Olympic Council of Asia in 1990. The national team gradually began rebuilding its international presence but remained a minor footballing nation in Asia.

In recent years, Chinese Taipei experienced a resurgence in form under English coach Gary White, who was appointed in 2017. White implemented modern tactical approaches and launched a global scouting program to identify players of Taiwanese descent abroad. This initiative brought in players such as Tim Chow, Will Donkin, and Emilio Estevez, who contributed to improved performances.

In December 2017, Chinese Taipei hosted and won the CTFA International Tournament, featuring Laos, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste. It marked the national team's first official international trophy in 55 years. Forward Li Mao finished as the tournament's top scorer with four goals.

Under White's leadership, Chinese Taipei won seven consecutive FIFA-recognized matches and advanced to the third round of qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, narrowly missing qualification by one point behind Bahrain and Turkmenistan. White departed in September 2018 to manage the Hong Kong national team.

After White's departure, the team's performance declined. Interim coach Vom Ca-nhum led the squad in the EAFF E-1 Championship qualifying round, but failed to progress further. In 2019, Louis Lancaster, another English coach and former assistant to White, was appointed head coach. However, the team won only one of nine matches that year and suffered heavy defeats during the early stages of qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Lancaster was dismissed in December 2019, and replaced by Vom Ca-nhum, who held an AFC Pro A license and was appointed on a permanent basis.

In October 2023, Chinese Taipei competed in the first round of qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They defeated Timor-Leste 7–0 on aggregate, advancing to the second round, where they were drawn into Group D alongside Oman, Kyrgyzstan, and Malaysia.

Team image

Kit As of January 2023, the official kit supplier is local Taiwanese sports brand Entes.

Stadium Chinese Taipei played their home matches at the Kaohsiung National Stadium which is able to hold up to 55,000 seating capacity. The stadium, designed by Japanese architect Toyo Ito, makes use of 1 MW of solar cells to provide most of its power needs. The stadium's semi spiral-shaped, like a dragon, is the first stadium in the world to provide power using solar power technology. The solar panels covering the vast external face of the stadium are able to generate most of the power required for its own operation, as well as additional power that can be sent to the grid.

Chinese Taipei used to play their match at the 20,000 capacity stadium Taipei Municipal Stadium which as of now, will be second in line to host the national team matches. On 3 July 2011, the stadium recorded its highest attendance for a football game when Chinese Taipei hosted Malaysia in the first round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification second leg match, when 15,335 spectators attended the game.

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

Coaching staff

As of 14 March 2026

PositionNameHead coach Matt RossAssistant coach Lin Cheng-yi Graham HarveyGoalkeeping coach Michael KraftPhysical coach Nicholas Punchard

Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

Ngan Shing-kwan (1936) Lee Wai Tong (1954–1958) Ho Ying Fun (1966) Pau King Yin (1966, 1968, 1971) Hsu King Shing (1967) Law Pak (1977–1981) Chiang Chia (1981–1985) Lo Chih-tsung (1985–1988) Huang Jen-cheng (1988–1993) Chiang Mu-tsai (1994–2000) Huang Jen-cheng (2000–2001) Lee Po-houng (2001–2005) Edson Silva (2005) Toshiaki Imai (2005–2007) Chen Sing-an (2008–2009) Lo Chih-tsung (2009–2011) Lee Tae-ho (2011) Chen Kuei-jen (2012) Chiang Mu-tsai (2012) Chen Kuei-jen (2013–2016) Toshiaki Imai (2016) Kazuo Kuroda (2016–2017) Reiji Hirata (2017) Gary White (2017–2018) Vom Ca-nhum (2018) Louis Lancaster (2019) Vom Ca-nhum (2020–2021) Yeh Hsien-chung (2021) Yeh Hsien-chung (2022–2023) Gary White (2023–2025) Chen Sing-an (2025) Huang Che-ming (2025) Matt Ross (2025–)

Players Current squad

The following 23 players were called up for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round against Sri Lanka on 31 March 2026.

Caps and goals updated as of 31 March 2026, after the match against Sri Lanka.

Recent call-ups The following players also received a call-up within the last twelve months.

PRE

Player records

Players in bold are still active with Chinese Taipei.

Most appearances

RankPlayerCapsGoalsPeriod1Chen Po-liang97252006–present2Wu Chun-ching74122010–present3Chen Ting-yang6552013–present4Chen Yi-wei6022006–20195Chen Hao-wei5582011–present6Wen Chih-hao5142012–present7Chen Chao-an4842015–present8Pan Wen-chieh4402012–present9Tsai Hsien-tang4322000–201210Lin Chang-lun4122012–2023

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerGoalsCapsRatioPeriod1Chen Po-liang25952006–present2Wu Chun-ching12742010–present3Chang Han10272008–20124Lo Chih-an9372007–2012Lo Chih-en9402007–20156Huang Wei-yi8182004–2010Yiu Cheuk Yin8371954–1964Chen Hao-wei8552011–present9Ange Kouamé7162023–present10Yu Yao-hsing6162023–presentOnur Doğan6272014–2022

Competitive record

Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place

FIFA World Cup

YearRoundPosition 1930Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member 1934 1938as 1950Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member 1954WithdrewWithdrew 1958 1962Did not enterDid not enter 1966 1970 1974 1978Did not qualify4004117as 1982Did not qualify813458 19866006136 1990200218 19946006331 19986114413 20026006025 20068206927 20102002011 2014210144 20188107720 20228008434 2026 8 2 0 6 9 17 2030 To be determinedTo be determined 2034Total00000074846248251

Olympic Games record Summer Olympics Games recordQualification recordYearRound 1908Did not enterDid not enter 1912 1920 1924 1928 1936Part of Part of 1948 1952Did not enterDid not enter 1956 1960Group stage16th3003312430194 1964Did not qualify210122 196851041118 19724004119 1976200205 1980Refused to participateRefused to participate 1984Did not qualify604259 198891088291992–presentSee Chinese Taipei national under-23 teamTotalGroup stage1/1730033123264223686

AFC Asian Cup

YearRoundPositionas 1956Did not qualify200214 1960Third place 3rd3102222200148 1964Withdrew Withdrew 1968Fourth place4th40223104310154 1972Withdrew Withdrew 1976 Expelled Expelledas 1980 OFC member OFC member 1984 1988 1992 Did not qualify301208 1996 31021010 20006105311 2004 210142 2007 6006024 2011AFC Challenge Cup 2015 20191861112038 2023100010539 20271420121436TotalThird place2/18 7 1 2 4 5 12 70 16 3 51 86 184

AFC Challenge Cup AFC Challenge Cup recordQualification recordYearResultPosition* 2006Quarter-finals8th412135No qualification 2008Did not qualify311175 2010311173 20125113610 2014301226TotalQuarter-finals1/5412135143472224

East Asian Cup

EAFF East Asian Cup recordPreliminary roundYearResultPositionPldWDLGFGAPldWDLGFGA 2003 Did not qualify4 3 0 1 133 2005 4 1 1 2 97 2008 3 2 1 0 183 2010 3 1 0 2 58 2013 4 0 1 3 217 2015 3 0 1 2 13 2017 6 4 0 2 179 2019 3 1 0 2 35 2022 Did not participateNot held 2025 Did not qualify 2 1 0 152Total —0/9––––––32134157357

Asian Games

Asian Games recordYearPositionPldWDLGFGA 1951Did not enter 1954Champions4400166 19585500114 1962Withdrew (visas refused) 1966Group stage301258 1970Did not enter1974–1986Expelled from Asian Games1990–1998Did not enterSee Total3/13129123218

Head-to-head record

Honours

Continental AFC Asian Cup Third place (1): 1960 Asian Games1 Gold medal (2): 1954, 1958

Friendly CTFA International Tournament (1): 2017

Summary Only official honours are included, according to FIFA statutes (competitions organized/recognized by FIFA or an affiliated confederation). Competition TotalAFC Asian Cup0011Total0011 Notes Competition organized by OCA, officially not recognized by FIFA.

Chinese Taipei national football team

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