It is a member of ConIFA, an umbrella association for states, minorities, stateless peoples and regions unaffiliated with FIFA.

They lost their first ever international game 1–0 against host nation Northern Cyprus, but defeated South Ossetia on the final day to finish 3rd in Group A and put them in the 5th place play-off.

[2][3] Due to their inactivity after the tournament, Kárpátalja failed to qualify for the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup.

[4] Kárpátalja went on to win the tournament, defeating Northern Cyprus on penalties in the final.

In October 2018, it was reported, by ConIFA, that the Football Federation of Ukraine had banned Kárpátalja players with Ukrainian citizenship from footballing activities for life, whilst Hungarian nationals on the team have been advised they can no longer enter Ukraine.