The team were originally scheduled to play their first official friendly against Darfur on 10 December 2017, however travel problems led to the game being cancelled.

Nevertheless, because of results in unofficial games against club sides, Matabeleland still gathered enough points to qualify for the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup in London.

In 2022, Matabeleland entered the CONIFA African Cup, drawing 1-1 to Yoruba Nation and beating eventual winners Biafra FC 1-0.

A final game victory over Tuvalu delivered a record 3–1 win with Shylock Ndlovu scoring a brace, pitting them against Algerian region Kabylia in the first placement round.

However, boosted by the appearance of Zimbabwean legend Bruce Grobbelaar, two 1–0 victories followed against Chagos Islands (replacing the expelled Ellan Vannin) and Tamil Eelam as the African team eventually finished 13th in the overall tournament rankings.

At the end of the tournament, English coach Justin Walley stepped down as manager, while the MFC announced the formation of a women's team[13] and participation in the 2018 Human Rights Cup.