Chinese Taipei national football team explained

Chinese Taipei
Badge:File:Chinese Taipei Football Association.png
Badge Size:150px
Nickname:Blue Wings
(藍翼)
Formosans
(寶島人)
Association:Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA)
中華民國足球協會
Sub-Confederation:EAFF (East Asia)
Confederation:AFC (Asia)
Coach:Gary White
Captain:Chen Po-liang
Most Caps:Chen Po-liang (86)
Top Scorer:Chen Po-liang (25)
Home Stadium:Kaohsiung National Stadium
Fifa Trigramme:TPE
Fifa Max:121
Fifa Max Date:April–May 2018
Fifa Min:191
Fifa Min Date:June 2016
Elo Max:60
Elo Max Date:September 1965
Elo Min:213
Elo Min Date:12 March 2015
Pattern La1:_ChineseTaipei_HOME_2023
Pattern B1:_ChineseTaipei_HOME_2023
Pattern Ra1:_ChineseTaipei_HOME_2023
Leftarm1:01007E
Body1:01007E
Rightarm1:01007E
Shorts1:000038
Socks1:000038
Pattern La2:_ChineseTaipei_AWAY_2023
Pattern B2:_ChineseTaipei_AWAY_2023
Pattern Ra2:_ChineseTaipei_AWAY_2023
Leftarm2:FFFFFF
Body2:FFFFFF
Rightarm2:FFFFFF
Shorts2:A4D2FF
Socks2:FFFFFF
Largest Win: 0–10
(Taipa, Macau; 17 June 2007)
Regional Name:Asian Cup
Regional Cup Apps:2
Regional Cup First:1960
Regional Cup Best:Third place (1960)
2Ndregional Cup Apps:1
2Ndregional Cup Best:Quarter-finals (2006)

The Chinese Taipei national football team represents Taiwan (the Republic of China) in international football[1] 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

AFC Asian Cup debut and conflicts (1924–1989)

The Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) was founded in Mainland China as the China Football Association (CFA) in 1924 and relocated to Taiwan in 1949 at the end of the Chinese Civil War. The country joined FIFA in 1954, first under the name Taiwan, then renaming to Chinese Taipei in 1982.[2]

Chinese Taipei's greatest success came when they finished third at the AFC Asian Cup in 1960. The team also qualified for 1960 Summer Olympics. However, the players in the team originally came from Hong Kong, despite the Hong Kong national football team not being one of the best in Asia.[3]

In 1970, an agreement was reached by the Chinese Taipei Football Association and the Hong Kong Football Association to the effect that Hong Kong footballers were no longer eligible to play for Taiwan. Since then, Chinese Taipei has not qualified for any FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup competitions.

Oceania representatives

Due to the political conflict with the People's Republic of China (China PR), Taiwan (Republic of China) had to change their name and Olympics design to "Chinese Taipei" after Chinese Taipei had been expelled from Asian Football Federation[4] and Asian Games. Chinese Taipei was part of the Oceania Football Confederation from 1975 to 1989.

Return to AFC (1989–present)

Chinese Taipei was then re-admitted back to the Asian Football Federation in 1989[5] and Olympic Council of Asia in 1990. [6]

Chinese Taipei reached their highest FIFA World Ranking of 121st in July 2018, under the guidance of renowned English coach, Gary White.[7] Since his arrival in the autumn of 2017, White's strategies aimed not only to improve the national team, but also the standards of football on the island. An extended scouting operation looking for talents of Taiwanese heritage from abroad was also part of his plans. The cast proved to be successful when players such as Tim Chow, Will Donkin and Emilio Estevez were tapped in for the national team.

In December 2017, Chinese Taipei hosted the CTFA International Tournament, an A-level competition that also included Laos, the Philippines and Timor-Leste. It was created to test the country's team in preparation for international friendlies and tournaments in future years. Chinese Taipei won all of their three games, winning the mini-tournament and their first official international trophy in 55 years.[8] Thanks to the four goals he scored (two of which in the final match against Laos), striker Li Mao was deemed as the competition's top scorer.[9]

White led a successful period for the Chinese Taipei, including winning 7 FIFA international games in a row. Charged with taking Taiwan to their first AFC Asian Cup since 1968, White had taken over the guide of the national team halfway through the qualification campaign: eventually, he brought them to the third round of the qualifiers, missing a spot to the tournament (in favour of Bahrain and Turkmenistan) by just one point. White was then offered a contract by the Hong Kong national team and left his role in Taiwan in September 2018.[10]

Following the Englishman's departure, progress started to plummet during the following year. Vom Ca-nhum, employed as a caretaker manager while he was guiding the Chinese Taipei U19 squad, was unable to qualify his side to the final round of the EAFF E-1 Football Championship (even though they won their match against Mongolia). Then, another Englishman, Louis Lancaster, who previously assisted Gary White during his time on the island, was appointed as the main coach to take his first senior management position.[11] However, things got even worse for the Chinese Taipei: in 2019, the team won just one out of the nine matches they played (a 2–0 win in a friendly against Hong Kong),[12] and they were prematurely eliminated from the continental qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, losing all of their first five games and getting thrashed by Australia (1–7), Kuwait (9–0) and Jordan (5–0). Following the shocking results in the first phase of the qualifiers, Lancaster was sacked in December 2019,[13] and the federation soon decided to hire Vom Ca-nhum again, this time on a full basis, as he was one of the few coaches on the island to have already gained an AFC Pro A coaching license.[14]

In October 2023, Chinese Taipei participated in the first round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, winning against Timor-Leste 7–0 on aggregate which saw them advancing to the second round, being placed in Group D alongside Oman, Kyrgyzstan, and Malaysia.

Team image

Kit

As of January 2023, the official kit supplier is local Taiwanese sports brand Entes.[15]

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

See main article: Chinese Taipei national football team results and Taiwan national football team results. The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

2024

Coaching staff

PositionName
Head coach Gary White
Assistant coach Gary William Hall
Glyn Robert Shimell
Kao Hao-Chieh
Su De-Tsai
Hsieh Ting-Kai
Lo Chih-an
Goalkeeping coach Darryl Flahavan
Fitness coach Louis Wareing
Athletic Trainer Chao Kuang-Ming
Physiotherapist Chen Tzu-chieh
Interpreter Pang Chin-Chung
Ethan Pond

Coaching history

Caretaker managers are listed in italics.

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match against and on 6 and 11 June 2024 respectively. [16]

Caps and goals updated as of 11 June 2024, after the match against .

Recent call-ups

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

Player records

[17]

Players in bold are still active with Chinese Taipei.

Most appearances

width=30pxRankPlayerwidth=50pxCapswidth=50pxGoalsPeriod
1Chen Po-liang84252006–present
2Wu Chun-ching66122010–present
3Chen Yi-wei6132006–2019
4Chen Ting-yang6042013–present
5Chen Hao-wei5282011–present
6Wen Chih-hao5142012–present
7Pan Wen-chieh4402012–present
8Tsai Hsien-tang4322000–2012
9Lin Chang-lun4022012–present
Lo Chih-en4092007–2015

Top goalscorers

width=30pxRankPlayerwidth=50pxGoalswidth=50pxCapswidth=50pxRatioPeriod
1Chen Po-liang25842006–present
2Wu Chun-ching12662010–present
3Chang Han10272008–2012
4Lo Chih-an9372007–2012
Lo Chih-en9402007–2015
6Huang Wei-yi8182004–2010
Chen Hao-wei8522011–present
8Lin Chien-hsun7122013–2017
9Huang Che-ming6241996–2004
Chiang Shih-lu6262003–2011
Chu En-le6272014–present

Competitions

Champions   Runners-up   Third place   Fourth place  

FIFA World Cup

YearRoundPosition
1930Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member
1934
1938
as
1950Not a FIFA memberNot a FIFA member
1954WithdrewWithdrew
1958
1962Did not enterDid not enter
1966
1970
1974
1978Did not qualify4004117
as
1982Did not qualify813458
19866006136
1990200218
19946006331
19986114413
20026006025
20068206927
20102002011
2014210144
20188107720
20228008434
20268206917
2030To be determinedTo be determined
2034
Total00000072846048247

Olympic Games record

Summer Olympics Games recordQualification record
YearRound
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
19889108829
1992–presentSee Chinese Taipei national under-23 team
TotalGroup stage1/1730033123264223686

AFC Asian Cup

See main article: Chinese Taipei at the AFC Asian Cup.

record record
Yearwidth=1% rowspan=30RoundPosition
as as
1956Did not qualify200214
1960Third place 3rd3102222200148
1964Withdrew Withdrew
1968Fourth place4th40223104310154
as as
1972Withdrew Withdrew
Expelled Expelled
OFC member OFC member
1984
1988
Did not qualify301208
31021010
20006105311
210142
6006024
2011AFC Challenge Cup
2015
20191861112038
2023100010539
2027To be determinedTo be determined
TotalThird place2/18 7 1 2 4 5 12 56 14 3 39 72 148

AFC Challenge Cup

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

East Asian Cup

EAFF East Asian Cup recordPreliminary round
YearResultPositionPldWDLGFGAPldWDLGFGA
2003Did not qualify4301133
2005411297
20082110111
2010310258
20134013217
2015301213
20176402179
2019310235
2022Did not participateNot held
2025To be determinedTo be determined
Total0/829114146153

Asian Games

Asian Games record
YearPositionPldWDLGFGA
1951Did not enter
1954Champions4400166
19585500114
1962Entry visa not issue by Indonesia government
1966Group stage301258
1970Did not enter
1974–1986Expelled from Asian Games
1990–1998Did not enter
See
Total3/13129123218

Honours

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Oyen . Meredith . Why Taiwan is competing in the Olympics under 'Chinese Taipei' . National Post . Postmedia Network Inc. . 20 July 2023.
  2. Web site: 28 June 2011 . Statistical Kit: Preliminary Draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210719092004/https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/52463a2cc01d135/original/c91tgtfetbsmneex1vbc-pdf.pdf . 19 July 2021 . 21 December 2020 . . 3 . Known as Taiwan before 1982..
  3. Web site: Archived copy . 2014-01-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170810183120/http://www.isu.edu.tw/upload/26/4/HS_journals/Vol1-9/11.pdf . 2017-08-10 . dead .
  4. Web site: NewspaperSG . 25 September 2023 . 19 September 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160919232731/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Page/straitstimes19740916-1.1.28.aspx . live .
  5. Web site: 足協簡介 - 中華民國足球協會Ctfa . 25 September 2023 . 24 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231024140721/https://www.ctfa.com.tw/aboutus/ctfa-profile.html . live .
  6. Web site: Archived copy . 25 September 2023 . 10 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231010113458/http://www.sports.gov.pk/Detail/OTdlMGQ4ZjktODFiZi00YzZhLWI2ZjgtNjY3N2Q3NWM1MGFm . live .
  7. Web site: White takes helm of Taiwan soccer. 2021-02-17. www.ebfc.co.uk. 11 October 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211011084226/https://www.ebfc.co.uk/news/debut-win-for-hughes-1652552.html. dead.
  8. Web site: 足協邀請賽 / 59年首嘗冠軍滋味 中華隊踢出勝利榮耀 - 中華民國足球協會CTFA. 2021-02-17. www.ctfa.com.tw. 29 August 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220829205818/https://www.ctfa.com.tw/hotnews/ctfa-news/3771-59.html. live.
  9. Web site: 2017-12-06. Taiwan beat Laos, claim CTFA17 title - Taipei Times. 2021-02-17. www.taipeitimes.com. 9 January 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200109123728/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2017/12/06/2003683509. live.
  10. Web site: Chan. Kin-wa. Gary White lands Hong Kong job as Football Association finally confirm new head coach after months of speculation. 10 September 2018. South China Morning Post. 10 September 2018. 11 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180911120902/https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/2163509/gary-white-finally-confirmed-new-head-coach-hong-kong-football. live.
  11. Web site: 2019-10-14. He moulded one of the world's best young players. Now he'll try to take down the Socceroos. 2021-02-17. Fox Sports. en. 5 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230405042741/https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/socceroos/socceroos-chinese-taipei-vs-australia-preview-analysis-louis-lancaster-jadon-sancho-graham-arnold-robbie-cornthwaite/news-story/d125daec0cfc8c59ac30386217856c0e. live.
  12. Web site: 2019-07-18. Taiwan boss positive after Qatar 2022 qualifying draw. 2021-02-17. South China Morning Post. en. 12 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210512222342/https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3019079/world-cup-qualifiers-taiwans-english-boss-louis-lancaster-positive. live.
  13. Web site: 2020-02-01. FEATURE: National soccer suffers horror 2019 - Taipei Times. 2021-02-17. www.taipeitimes.com. 4 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200204152409/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2020/02/01/2003730173. live.
  14. Web site: 2020-02-15. Men's national soccer team appoints Vom Ca-nhum as side's new manager - Taipei Times. 2021-02-17. www.taipeitimes.com. 28 September 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200928230850/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/sport/archives/2020/02/15/2003731023. live.
  15. Web site: Staff . Football Fashion . 2022-01-27 . Chinese Taipei 2022/23 Entes Home and Away Kits . 2023-01-15 . FOOTBALL FASHION . en-US . 15 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230115121423/https://footballfashion.org/wordpress/2022/01/27/chinese-taipei-2022-23-entes-home-and-away-kits/ . live .
  16. Web site: 2026世界盃暨2027亞洲盃資格賽第二輪:中華台北 vs 阿曼選手名單 . 6 June 2024 .
  17. Web site: Chinese Taipei . National Football Teams.