The Faroe Islands national football team represents the Faroe Islands in association football and is controlled by the Faroe Islands Football Association (FSF), the governing body of the sport in the country. It competes as a member of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which encompasses the countries of Europe. Organised football has been played in the country since the 19th century; Tvøroyrar Bóltfelag was its first club, founded in 1892.[3] Initially, clubs played friendlies to determine the winner of an unofficial championship, with matches being contested home and away, depending on the weather and the state of the generally uneven grass pitches.[3] The Faroe Islands Sports Association was formed in 1939, and three years later a national league was created.[3] Cup competitions were introduced in 1955 before the FSF was founded on 13 January 1979.[3]
Before joining the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) on 2 July 1988,[3] the Faroe Islands played a selection of unofficial friendlies; they played their first official match on 24 August 1988 against Iceland which resulted in a 1–0 away defeat in Akranes, Iceland.[4] The nation recorded its first victory in its next friendly, 1–0 against Canada.[4] On 18 April 1990, the Faroe Islands became a member of UEFA and entered its first major international competition later that year: the qualifying rounds for the 1992 UEFA European Football Championship.[3] The team won their first competitive match on 12 September 1990 when they defeated Austria 1–0; this match, along with all competitive home matches during the qualification tournament, was played in Sweden because there were no grass pitches in the Faroe Islands to meet UEFA standards at the time.[5] The Faroe Islands made its first appearance in the qualifying rounds of the FIFA World Cup during the 1994 edition, but the country has yet to reach the finals of either competition.[6]
Between 1988 and 2019, the team's largest victories came by three-goal margins against San Marino, Gibraltar and Liechtenstein in 1995, 2014 and 2018 respectively; also during this period, the Faroe Islands' largest defeats came by seven-goal margins against Romania, Norway, Yugoslavia and FR Yugoslavia.[6] The Faroe Islands' highest annual FIFA Men's World ranking during this period was 83rd at the end of 2016.[7]
Results
- Key
Head-to-head record
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | WPCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Andorra | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 33.33 |
 Austria | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 16 | −13 | 16.67 |
 Azerbaijan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | −8 | 0.00 |
 Belgium | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0.00 |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 0.00 |
 Canada | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
 Cyprus | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 0.00 |
 Czech Republic | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | −7 | 0.00 |
| Czechoslovakia[a] | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | −7 | 0.00 |
 Denmark | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0.00 |
 Estonia | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 15 | −5 | 28.57 |
 Finland | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 14 | −13 | 0.00 |
 France | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 22 | −22 | 0.00 |
 Yugoslavia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 19 | −17 | 0.00 |
 Georgia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 0.00 |
 Germany | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0.00 |
 Gibraltar | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 100.00 |
 Greece | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 50.00 |
 Hungary | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0.00 |
 Iceland | 13 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 24 | −16 | 7.69 |
 Israel | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 0.00 |
 Italy | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 0.00 |
 Kazakhstan | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 50.00 |
 Kosovo | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0.00 |
 Latvia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 33.33 |
 Liechtenstein | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 100.00 |
 Lithuania | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 12.50 |
 Luxembourg | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 66.67 |
 Malta | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 62.50 |
 Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 0.00 |
 Northern Ireland | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 16 | −13 | 0.00 |
 Norway | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 15 | −15 | 0.00 |
 Poland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | −11 | 0.00 |
 Portugal | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 16 | −15 | 0.00 |
 Republic of Ireland | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 11 | −10 | 0.00 |
 Romania | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 26 | −24 | 0.00 |
 Russia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 0.00 |
 San Marino | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 100.00 |
 Scotland | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 26 | −20 | 0.00 |
 Serbia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | −9 | 0.00 |
 Slovakia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0.00 |
 Slovenia | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 12 | −9 | 0.00 |
 Spain | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 17 | −14 | 0.00 |
 Sweden | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 11 | −10 | 0.00 |
 Switzerland | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 19 | −17 | 0.00 |
 Turkey | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
 Ukraine | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | −7 | 0.00 |
 Wales | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | −9 | 0.00 |
 Yugoslavia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | −9 | 0.00 |
| Total | 198 | 27 | 22 | 149 | 125 | 488 | −363 | 13.64 |
Notes: