Tamil Nadu team reached semi-finals of the Santosh Trophy in 2009,[2][3] where they lost to Goa.

Some of the former Tamil Nadu state football players are S. Grand Durai Pandian (Chennai Customs)(Striker), Samson Gunapandian, Simon Sundararaj,[5] J. Krishnaswamy, Raman Vijayan, Syed Sabir Pasha, Kalia Kulothungan,[6] Robin Charles Raja, V. Soundararajan, P.M. Radhakrishnan, P. Nageshwara Rao,[7] M. Thangaraj,[8] Gandhi (RBI), Edwin Ross (Winger), D'Cruz (ICF), Orlando Rayen, A.U.

Sriramulu, A. Satyanarayanan, Guna Singh, Koshy, Kumar, Thomas, Arumaiyanayagam, Thanikachalam, Chandran Jeypal, Dhanapathy, Gurunathan, Viswanathan, and Rajamanickam (Goal Keeper).

[9] Simon Sundararaj from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu scored the last Indian goal at the Olympics, in Rome in 1960.

In the past, to attend preparatory camps to get selected for the India national football team, it was difficult for these players to obtain leave from the institutions in which they were employed.