The Tamil Nadu football team is an Indian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

team representing

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

in Indian state football competitions including the

Santosh Trophy The Santosh Trophy, officially known as Hero Senior Men's National Football Championship due to sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp, is a state-level football competition contested by the state associations and government institutions under ...

. They have appeared in the Santosh Trophy finals twice, in 1972–73 and 2012, and have never won. Tamil Nadu team reached semi-finals of the Santosh Trophy in 2009, where they lost to Goa. Prior to 1972, the team competed as Madras football team.

Squad

The team selected for 2021 Santosh Trophy;

Coaching staff

Player history

Some of the former Tamil Nadu state football players are Samson Gunapandian, Simon Sundararaj, J. Krishnaswamy, Raman Vijayan,

Syed Sabir Pasha Syed Sabir Pasha (born 5 November 1972) is a former Indian football player and technical director at All India Football Federation. During his playing days, Pasha played for Indian Bank in the National Football League from 1991 to 2007 and rep ...

, Kalia Kulothungan, Robin Charles Raja, V. Soundararajan, P.M. Radhakrishnan, P. Nageshwara Rao, M. Thangaraj, Gandhi (RBI), Edwin Ross (Winger), D'Cruz (ICF), Orlando Rayen, A.U. Celestine (Goal Keeper), P.V. Sriramulu, A. Satyanarayanan, Guna Singh, Koshy, Kumar, Thomas, Arumaiyanayagam, Thanikachalam, Chandran Jeypal, Dhanapathy, Gurunathan, Viswanathan, and Rajamanickam (Goal Keeper). Simon Sundararaj from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu scored the last Indian goal at the Olympics, in Rome in 1960. Most of these former players were employees of State or Central government institutions.

All India Football Federation The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to Asian Football Confederation. It is affiliated to Ministry ...

and Tamil Nadu Football Association were coordinating these players participation at the National level. In the past, to attend preparatory camps to get selected for the India national football team, it was difficult for these players to obtain leave from the institutions in which they were employed. Some Tamil Nadu football players use their football talent and achievements to get jobs in Government institutions like Southern Railways, Indian Bank, and Chennai Customs. The following is an incomplete list of Tamil Nadu footballers. * Dhanpal Ganesh * Dharmaraj Ravanan *

Nallappan Mohanraj Nallappan Mohanraj (நல்லப்பன் மோகன்ராஜ், Nallappan Mohanraj; born 23 February 1992 in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu) is an Indian footballer. He is currently playing for Churchill Brothers in the l-League as a left ...

* Kali Alaudeen * C. S. Sabeeth * Pradeep Mohanraj *

Michael Soosairaj Michael Soosairaj (born 25 December 1994) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Indian Super League club Odisha. Career Early career and Chennai City Born in Eraviputhenthurai, Tamil Nadu, Soosairaj first moved to Ch ...

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Nanda Kumar Nandhakumar Sekar (born 20 December 1995) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Indian Super League club Odisha. Career Sekar made his professional debut in the I-League with Chennai City on 19 February 2017 against ...

Raegan Albarnas Raegan Albarnas is a professional association football player who plays for Chennai City F.C. and for Tamil Nadu in the national level. Early career Raegan began his career with representing Tamil Nadu football team in Santosh Trophy. In ...

* P. Sudhakar *

Michael Regin Michael Regin is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. Career Regin has played for Chennai City in the Chennai Super Division and the I-League. He made his professional debut for the club in the league on 14 Jan ...

Sinivasan Pandiyan Sinivasan Pandiyan (born 6 December 1995) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Gokulam Kerala in I-League. Career Born in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, Pandiyan began his career with the Noble Football Academ ...

Alexander Romario Jesuraj Alexander Romario Jesuraj (born 26 July 1996), is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Chennaiyin in the Indian Super League. Club career Youth and early career Born in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, Alexander begins his car ...

Honours

** Runners-up (2): 1972–73, 2011–12 * National Games ** Silver medal (1):

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

** Bronze medal (1): 2002 * Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy ** Winners (1): 1985–86 ** Runners-up (1): 1999–2000

References

Football in Tamil Nadu Santosh Trophy teams {{India-footyclub-stub