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Central African Republic national football team
Men's association football team From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Central African Republic national football team (French: Équipe de République centrafricaine de football), nicknamed Les Fauves, is the national team of the Central African Republic and is controlled by the Central African Football Federation. They are a member of CAF. Despite being traditionally one of the weakest teams in Africa and the world, they have had some success. They won the 2009 CEMAC Cup by beating Gabon in the semi-finals and Equatorial Guinea in the final 3–0. Their FIFA ranking rose from 202nd in August 2010 to 89th by July 2011. On 10 October 2010, they earned a shock 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier win at home against Algeria 2–0, which put them top of their qualification group. The team won its first FIFA World Cup qualifier on 2 June 2012 after beating Botswana 2–0 at home.[3][4]
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History
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Early years (1956–1989)
The team made its debut under the name of Ubangi-Shari in 1956 against French Cameroon. The Central African Football Federation was founded in 1961 and joined FIFA in 1964 and CAF in 1965.
Their first competitive match was in the 1961 Friendship Games in Ivory Coast where Central African Republic drew twice against Upper Volta and Liberia before losing to the hosts and failing to progress to the next round.
Central African Republic entered the 1974 African Cup of Nations qualification for the first time, progressing due to Gabon's withdrawal but were then eliminated 5–4 on aggregate by Ivory Coast, a tie which saw the second leg abandoned at half-time after arguments between players of both sides, forcing a replay in Lagos which Ivory Coast won 5–1.
They took part in 1984 UDEAC Cup where they qualified to the knock-out rounds on goal-difference over Equatorial Guinea but were then heavily beaten by Cameroon 7–1 before beating Gabon on penalties to finish third. However in the 1988 UDEAC Cup, Gabon would get their revenge, beating Central African Republic in the semi-finals. The following year Central African Republic would host the 1989 UDEAC Cup, making it to the finals, beating Gabon on the way, before losing 2–1 to Cameroon.
Sporadic matches (1990–2008)
During the 1990s, Central African Republic played very few international games, withdrawing from the 1996 African Cup of Nations qualification without playing a match. They returned to competition in the UNIFAC Cup in 1999, winning three times and losing twice to finish second.
Central African Republic participated in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers for the first time, losing in the first round to Zimbabwe. They reached the final of the inaugural CEMAC Cup, losing to an amateur Cameroon team that they'd drawn with a week earlier in the tournament.
Promising victories (2009–2019)
In 2009, Central African Republic hosted the 2009 CEMAC Cup where they defeated Equatorial Guinea 3–0 in the final, with goals from Salif Kéïta and a brace from Hilaire Momi to claim their first trophy.
During the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Central African Republic achieved a historic 2–0 home victory over the top seeded Algeria, a team that had recently competed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In July 2011, they climbed to 89th place in the FIFA world rankings, having occupied 202nd place as recently as August 2010.
On 2 June 2012, they obtained their first victory in World Cup qualification, beating Botswana 2–0 at home. Despite that positive result, Central African Republic finished bottom of their group. On 15 June 2012, despite being reduced to ten men, they achieved another impressive victory, beating Egypt 3–2 in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, inflicting the first home defeat on the Egyptians in AFCON qualifiers since 1965. Thanks to a 1–1 draw at home in the second leg, Central African Republic eliminated the Egyptians, but in the second round they were defeated by Burkina Faso.
Missed opportunities (2020–present)
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On 30 March 2021, in the last group stage match of the Africa Cup of Nations qualification, Central African Republic lost 1–0 at home against Mauritania to finish bottom of their group; hence, they missed the opportunity, had they won, to finish second which would have qualified them for the final tournament for the first time in their history.[5]
On 17 June 2023, Central African Republic needed a win at home against Angola on matchday 5 of the qualifications to secure their first ever participation in the Africa Cup of Nations;[6] however, the match ended in a 2–1 defeat and a drop to third place.[7] In the final group stage match, the national team lost 2–1 to Ghana, despite a 1–0 lead, which ended their last hope of qualification.[8]
FIFA Series tournament
In 2024, Central African Republic played their first ever tournament outside Africa where FIFA invited them to the 2024 FIFA Series matches on from 22 to 25 March 2024 held in Colombo in Sri Lanka where they would face Bhutan and Papua New Guinea.
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Results and fixtures
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The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win Draw Loss Fixture
2024
| 14 November 2025 AFCON Qual. | Lesotho  | 1–0 |  Central African Republic | Bloemfontein, South Africa |
| 14:00 UTC+2 | Mokhachane  51' |
Report | Stadium: Free State Stadium |
| 18 November 2025 AFCON Qual. | Central African Republic | 0–1 |  Gabon | Johannesburg, South Africa |
| 19:00 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: Orlando Stadium Referee: Dahane Beida (Mauritania) |
2025
| 19 March 2025 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | Central African Republic | 1–4 |  Madagascar | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 17:00 UTC+1 |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Larbi Zaouli Stadium Referee: Adalbert Diouf (Senegal) |
| 24 March 2025 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | Central African Republic | 0–0 |  Mali | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 17:00 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: Larbi Zaouli Stadium Referee: Godfrey Nkhakananga (Malawi) |
| 6 June 2025 International friendly | Mauritania  | 1–2 | Central African Republic | Casablanca, Morocco |
| 21:00 UTC+1 | Tanjy 22' (pen.) |
Report | Stadium: Larbi Zaouli Stadium |
| 9 June 2025 International friendly | Tunisia  | Canceled | Central African Republic | Casablanca, Morocco |
| Report | Stadium: Larbi Zaouli Stadium |
| 4 September 2026 World Cup Qualification | Madagascar | 2–0 | Central African Republic | Rabat, Morocco |
|
Report | Stadium: Larbi Zaouli Stadium Attendance: 450 Referee: Ahmed Arajiga (Tanzania) |
| 7 September 2026 World Cup Qualification | Central African Republic | 0–2 |  Comoros | Meknes, Morocco |
| 17:00 UTC+1 | Report | M'Changama 20' Maolida 39' |
Stadium: Honor Stadium Attendance: 300 |
| 8 October 2026 World Cup Qualification | Central African Republic | 0–5 |  Ghana | El Jadida, Morocco |
| 17:00 UTC+1 | Report | Stadium: Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium Attendance: 200 Referee: Patrice Milazare (Mauritius) |
| 12 October 2026 World Cup Qualification | Chad  | 3–2 | Central African Republic | N'Djamena, Chad |
| 17:00 UTC+1 |
|
Report | Stadium: Stade Deby Itno Referee: Celso Alvação (Mozambique) |
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Coaching history
- Caretaker managers are listed in italics.
Evgeni Rogov (1973-1976)
Jean-Jacques Ombi (?-?)- Étienne Momokoamas (2004-2006)
- Francois Yanguere (2006-2008)
Jules Accorsi (2010–2012)- Herve Lougoundji (2012–2014)
Raoul Savoy (2014–2015)- Blaise Kopogo (2015)
- Herve Lougoundji (2015–2017)
- Raoul Savoy (2017–2019)
François Zahoui (2019–2021)- Raoul Savoy (2021–2024)
- Eloge Enza Yamissi (2024-25)
Rigobert Song (2025-)
Players
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Current squad
The following players were selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Ghana and Chad on 8 and 12 October 2025 respectively.[9]
Caps and goals as of 12 October 2025, after the match against Chad.
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up to the Central African Republic squad within the last twelve months.
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Records
- As of 18 November 2024[10]
- Players in bold are still active with Central African Republic.
Most appearances
Top goalscorers
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Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
Africa Cup of Nations
African Nations Championship
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Head-to-head record
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As of 12 October 2025 after match against Chad[11]
Positive Record Neutral Record Negative Record
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FIFA ranking history
End of each year only
 | This graph was using the legacy Graph extension, which is no longer supported. It needs to be converted to the new Chart extension. |
Honours
Regional
- CEMAC Cup
Champions (1): 2009
Runners-up (1): 2003
- UNIFAC Cup
- Runners-up (1): 1999
Friendly
Notes
References
External links
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