The Mongolia national football team

The Mongolia national football team represents Mongolia in international football under the control of the Mongolian Football Federation (MFF). Founded in 1959, the federation was inactive between 1961 and 1997 and the men's national team did not feature in any international fixtures during that time. The federation was reorganised in 1997 and joined the AFC the same year. In 1998 the federation became a full member of FIFA, the international governing body for the sport. The MFF joined the EAFF as one of eight founding members in May 2002. Because of the harsh climate and a lack of suitable venues, the team has hosted few home matches in the past. However, in 2002 the MFF, with assistance from FIFA, began developing facilities in the country, including the creation of the 5,000-seat MFF Football Centre, which will allow the team to play more matches in Mongolia. About Mongolia's relatively low number of matches played, former national team player and coach Zorigtyn Battulga said, "Lack of games is a problem. No one will come to Mongolia in December and for us to fly to other countries is very expensive so it’s hard to arrange official matches."

After the MFF was formed, the men's national team competed in a tournament in Hanoi, North Vietnam which included the national teams of only communist states in Asia. Mongolia competed against China, North Korea, and North Vietnam, losing all three matches by a combined score of 3 to 19. Mongolia competed at the East Asian Games in 1993, 1997, and 2001. Although the tournament was meant to be competed among under-23 teams, Mongolia, Guam, and Macau were permitted to enter their full national teams in 2001. Some evidence suggests that Mongolia was also permitted to enter its full national team in 1993 also but sources indicate that only North Korea fielded a team without age restrictions. If the full national team competed in 1993, they recorded the team's first ever victory, either before or after FIFA membership, with a 4–3 win over Macau on 18 May.

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