The team was founded in 1924 by the Republic of China and joined FIFA in 1931. Following the Chinese Civil War, the Chinese Football Association was formed in the newly founded People's Republic of China. They remained affiliated with FIFA until 1958, when they withdrew, but they rejoined the organization in 1979. After the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom in 1997, and Macau from Portugal in 1999, these two special administrative regions have continued to have their own separate national teams which play as "Hong Kong, China" and "Macau, China" respectively.