East Timor, now known as Timor Leste, gained independence from Indonesia in 2000 following more than 20 years of occupation at the end of the Portuguese rule which resulted in a long
running battle against Jakarta-led forces. East Timor Football Association was accepted as an associate member of AFC at the 20th AFC Congress in 2002. East Timor played their first international in March 2003 at the Asian Cup, China 2004 qualifiers where they lost all their matches.