Their first international match was played on April 13, 1960, in the Jeux de la Communauté in Madagascar and ended with a 5–4 victory against Gabon.

Although they drew their first match against Ivory Coast and needed just a draw against Ghana to progress, the Burkinabe lost 1–0 and failed to qualify for the knock-out stage of the tournament.

[5] Burkina Faso took part in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, losing all three of their matches and subsequently firing coach Paulo Duarte.

Burkina Faso first entered the World Cup in the 1978 qualifying tournament, beating Mauritania in the preliminary round before losing 1–3 against Ivory Coast.

The team had a strong showing in the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign, reaching the final round of qualifying where it faced Algeria.