Marshall Islands: The last nation on Earth without a football team that prepares for historical internationals | Football news

Five years ago, Marshall’s islands launched their mission to settle the last country’s status on Earth without a football team.

In December 2022, they enhanced things by hiring a coach based in Oxford Lloyd Owers as his technical director.

“Currently is the focus on the construction of the foundation,” he said In an interview with Sky Sportsshortly after his appointment.

At that moment, he did not even visit a small nation – made up of five islands, 29 atols and about 60,000 people, located in the Pacific, more than 3,000 miles from the northeast coast of Australia.

The first goal was to collect the basic equipment to play football at a place without the previous history of the game, and then to introduce it to the school curricula to lay the foundation for the future.

Last summer, Marshall Islands Football Federation organized and hosted the inaugural Outrigger Challenge Cup, a futsal tournament that were challenged by themselves, Kirija and Micronesia and B team from each. Kiritaka beat the hosts 6-2 in the finals.

The project progress was fast.

So much so that, between August 13 and August 16, Marshall Islands will play his first 11 against 11 international in 2025.

“Two years ago, we could only dream of it and it would happen now,” he says.

“This has been in progress for a long time. Ever since we started, everyone asked when to be the first game, but we wanted to ensure that the project was sustainable and first we had the right things. We had to be the right time.

“We could take over the safer possibility this year to re -make a futsal tournament, but the time is ticking.

“We want to be members of the confederation and formally applied for three different routes. With that we have to be 11 compared to 11 present, so we thought, this summer, we will do it.

“We don’t want to have low -risk games where we could play someone locally in the region and really, really good, but that won’t make us any credibility services.”

This year’s historic tournament also participates in American Virgin Islands, the islands of Turks and Caicos and MLS Next Side Ozark United U19, which recently replaced the previously announced Guam.

However, this time it will not be hosted on the Marshall Islands. Instead, the matches will be held at the Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium at Springdale, Arkansas.

Explanation? The American city has the largest population of Marshallers – completely about 15,000 – outside the country itself, because of free movement between the two nations. Logistically speaking, it’s obviously much easier.

What makes this more impressive is the fact that Marshall Islands still has no regular funding course, as Owers explains.

“We have good to do with the government and they support in what they do. They help us classify support, especially on the main island of Majuro, and we have a good relationship with ministers of education.

“But there will be nothing financially from the Government until there is a membership in the Confederation, which is a bit of a Catch-22.” More about it in an instant.

And so the project relies on sponsorships and donations, and the recent Kickstarter campaign raised £ 21,573.

“It’s expensive and we set ourselves a huge task, but at the same time we felt we should take a risk. We would rather go great than if we took a slight option.

“We will just continue to push and raise consciousness – and the more activities we have, the more an opportunity is for people to get financially involved.”

Now counting on the tournament is included, the focus is where the players will put together a team, and Owers says the pool of players who could realistically choose to composition “about 100 around the world”.

This figure includes players of Marshallese Descent who grew up in the United States, as well as players of American origin who grew up on Marshall Islands. It also includes two teenagers living in Germany, who reached through Instagram and then proved their heritage.

With the introduction of football to schools, this pool will now only grow.

“Our players are very young,” Owers adds. “At least a few older players in a group to play this summer, most just finish high school, starts college or college.

“We are completely aware that it will be a difficult test, but we are under the impression that you have to target playing against those you want to play on a regular basis. No one expects to win the games, but if we can present a little and show that we can participate, then we will.

“But we don’t want this game 11 VS 11 to happen, and then we don’t play for two years. We want this to be the beginning.”

In addition to playing international football for the first time, getting membership in Confederation was always true at the top of the agenda of Marshall Islands. Recognition, financing and opportunity to play in the World Cup qualifiers would be to change the game.

But it is far from the direct process.

“Thec (Oceania Football Confederation) presented a guideline about what potential members should do to apply and have created our strategic document to match it,” Owers says.

“I honestly believe that it was on the back of what we were able to do because we were noisy neighbors and I don’t think people realized how quickly we would make progress.

“We realized that we were actually fulfilling so much criteria for a lot of membership, not just associated membership, so we felt like we were in a real strong position.

“Unfortunately, ofc did not respond to our application except through a journalist in Novi Zealand. Almost with the message” Yes, you are in a strong position, but this is an additional nation to which we need to give our funding, “which is not great for us.

“At the same time, we are now applying for AFC (Asian F

“Especially with AFC, logistically, we are in a strong position to come to Asia with Marshall Islands. We also have direct flights to Honolulu, then to the US mainland we can reach any of these Koncafa countries.

“It could be technically lying in Oceania, but it may not be bad that he did because he may have pushed us in a better direction and I would like to say that by 2026, we will be in a strong position to at least knock on that door to welcome a little more than we are now.”

Owers laughs while saying that his role of technical director is full -time job, with a full -time job that holds the UK daily. But obviously it pays off.

Together with the organization of the first applications for membership in membership and confederation, so much work happens behind the scenes to progress.

Regular sessions are held on the islands of Majaro, Kwajalein and Ebeye, and there is hope that in the future it will establish a league structure, not exclusively matches aimed at the tournament.

As many as 200 children play football in schools, and there is a women’s national futsal team based in the US, who have participated in two training camps so far. There is also a partnership with the islands of the Marshall Islands Special Olympics, and the goal is to participate in the 2027 World Games in Chile.

Marshall Islands are now home away from Owers home.

“You enter the supermarket and someone will ask, ‘Are you a football guy?! “It’s strange that in the middle of the Pacific Ocean there is a guy who lives near Oxford who is known for football!

“The first time I left, I didn’t really know what to expect. It’s the farthest place I’ve ever been to. But now there’s a sense of it.

“I have friends there; there is a huge community and people want to help you. It is one of those places where, if someone has nothing, they will give you everything they have. Everyone helps everyone and it simply feels welcome.

“Two years later, they see the benefits. The children have a new hobby and there is a true path where you can represent your country in another sport.

“You can get off the island and you can visit new places and have the experiences you couldn’t have been able to do two years ago. Even a year ago you couldn’t, so this actually happens, people start to say that this is a good place.”

Marshall islands continue to raise funds for their project via Gofundme – support here