Marshall Islands: The last country on earth without a football team is preparing for historical workers Football news

Five years ago, the Marshall Islands launched its mission to ignore the situation as the last country on earth without a football team.

In December 2022, they escalated matters by employing the Oxford -based Lloyd Ers coach as their technical manager.

“At the present time, the focus is on construction from A to Z,” he said. In an interview with Sky SportsSoon after his appointment.

At that point, even the small nation – which consists of five islands, 29 degrees, and about 60,000 people, which is located in the Pacific Ocean, did not visit more than 3000 miles off the northeastern coast of Australia.

The first goal was to collect the basic equipment to play football in a place without a previous history of the game, then present it to the curricula to lay the foundations for the future.

Last summer, the Marshall Islands Football Association organized the opening challenge cup, FUTSAL championship on its own, Circassians, Micronesia, and team B from each of them. Kiribati beat hosts 6-2 in the final.

The project was rapidly advanced.

To the extent that, between August 13 and August 16, the Marshall Islands will play the first 11 against 11 internationals in the 2025 Outrigger Challenge Cup, with Erz at the head of the coach.

He says: “Two years ago, we could only dream about that and now that will happen.”

“It was a long work for a long time. Since we started, everyone was asking when the first game would be, but we wanted to make sure that the project was sustainable and we had the right things first. It should be the right time.

“We could have made the safest choice for the Futsal Championship again this year, but the time beats.

“We want to be members of the union, and we officially apply us to three different ways. However, we must be 11 for 11 years as well, so we thought, this summer, this is what we will do.

“We don’t want to have low -risk games as we may play a local person in the region and do our best, but we will not do any favoritism.”

Also participating in the historical championship of this year is the American Virgin Islands, the Turkish Islands, Kaikos, and MLS Next Ozark United U19, which replaced Guam, which was previously announced.

It will not be hosted in the Marshall Islands this time. Instead, matches will be played at Jarrell Williams Bulldog in Springdale, Arkansas.

Logic? The American city includes the largest number of Marshalin’s population – about 15,000 – completely outside the country itself, due to freedom of movement between the two countries. Logistics, it is clear that it is too much too much.

What makes this more impressive is the fact that the Marshall Islands still have any regular funding, as OWERS explains.

“We have good links to the government and they are supportive of what they are doing. They help us to offer support, especially through the main island of Majoro, and we have a good relationship with education ministers.

“But there will be nothing financial from the government until there is a confederation membership, which is a little hunting 22.” More about it in a moment.

Thus, the project depends on care and donations, with the last Cake Starter campaign that collects 21,573 pounds.

“It is an expensive task and we put ourselves a huge task, but at the same time, we felt that we needed to risk. We prefer to bear the easy option.

“We will continue to pay awareness and raise awareness – and more activity we have, and the more opportunities in which participation is financially.”

Now, the countdown to the tournament is run, a focus that the players will form and OWERS says that a group of players who can choose them realistically for the team’s group “about 100 around the world”.

This number includes players of Marshalli origin who grew up in the United States, as well as American origin players who grew up in the Marshall Islands. It also includes two teenagers living in Germany, who communicated via Instagram, and then proved their heritage.

By introducing football to schools, from now, this pool will not grow.

“Our players are very young,” adds. “Two older players in the group will play this summer, most of them are ending from high school, college start or college.

“We are fully aware that it will be a difficult test, but we feel the impression that you should aim to play against who you want to play against them regularly.

“But we do not want this 11 game to occur 11, then we don’t play again for two years. We want this beginning.”

Aside from playing international football for the first time, the federation’s membership was always at the top of the Marshall Islands agenda. Appreciation, financing and opportunity to play in World Cup qualifiers will change the game.

But it is far from a direct process.

“The status of the (Football Association in Oceania) is guidelines for what potential members need to do to progress and create our strategy document to agree on it,” says Eers.

“I really think it was on the back of what we were able to do because we were the noisy neighbors and I do not think that people realized how quickly we advanced.

“We have realized that we already meet a lot of complete organic standards, not only the affiliate membership, so we felt that we were in a real strong position.

“Unfortunately, OFC did not respond to our application unlike a journalist in New Zealand.

“At the same time, we are now applying for football in the Asian Football Confederation (Asian Football Association) and Concacaf (Northern Football Association, Central America and the Caribbean) because we do not want to close these doors, and they are actually more responsive.

“Especially with AFC, logistically, we are in a strong position to reach Asia from the Marshall Islands. We also have direct flights to Honolulu, then to the mainland of the United States of America, and we can reach any of the countries Concacaf.

“It might be technically in Oceania, but it may not be bad that the Off -did has done so because we may have pushed in a better direction and I would like to say, by 2026, we hope in a strong position to get this door at least to welcome a little more than we are now.”

Euers laugh because he says that the role of the coach is a full -time job in itself, as well as the full -time job he holds daily in the United Kingdom. But it is clearly fruitful.

Along with the organization of the first international students and Confederation membership applications, there is a lot of work behind the scenes for progress.

There are regular sessions that take place in the Majoro, Classein and Ayb Islands, and there is hope for creating a periodical structure in the future, instead of the matches that focus on the tournament only.

It plays up to 200 football children in schools, and there is the FUTSAL Women’s team in the United States, who have participated in two training camps so far. There is a partnership with the Marshall Private Olympics as well, and the goal of participating in the world games in Chile in 2027.

The Marshall Islands are now a house away from the home for OWERS.

“You go to a supermarket and ask someone:” Are you a football man?! “It is strange that in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there are some Block who live near Oxford known as football!

“The first time I went, I didn’t really know what it could be expected. It is the most spring that I was at all. But now there is a feeling of the homeland.

“I have friends there; there is a huge society and people want to help you. It is one of those places that, if someone does not have anything, it will give you everything they have. Everyone helps everyone and feels welcome.

“After two years, they see the benefits of this. Children have a new hobby and there is a real path where you can represent your country in a different sport.

“You can get out of the island and you can visit new places and have these experiences two years ago you couldn’t. Even a year ago you couldn’t, and now this really happens, people began to say this is a good thing. It’s a beautiful place.”

Marshall Islands continue to raise money for its project via Gofundment – support here