The team, which consists of professional and semi-professional drawn from the Eelam Tamil diaspora community in Canada and Europe, was established in 2012 by the Tamileelam Football Association (TEFA).

[1] TEFA is affiliated to the Confederation of Independent Football Associations, an umbrella association for entities unaffiliated with FIFA therefore cannot compete for the FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup since they are not affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

[3] The Tamil Eelam national football team made its international debut at the 2012 VIVA World Cup held in Iraqi Kurdistan, finishing in 7th place.

[4][5] The team took part in the Tynwald Hill International Football Tournament History held on the Isle of Man in July 2013, finishing in 3rd place.

The CONIFA 2020 World Football Cup has been cancelled due to the unprecedented disruption of the coronavirus pandemic.