KAREN EARNSHAW
Five years ago the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation received a huge boost in the form of a small group of British soccer fans and experts who had discovered that the Marshall Islands was “the last nation on Earth without a national soccer team.”
Fast forward to this week and the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation’s Matt Webb confirmed from England that a Marshallese squad will play their first-ever international matches in the 2025 Outrigger Challenge Cup in August in Springdale, Arkansas.
“We are working incredibly hard to pull off this event in Springdale, Arkansas,” Matt wrote. “Our goal is for the Marshall Islands to be accepted into our regional confederation, and ultimately FIFA*, which is the world governing body.
“This is another huge milestone in the short history of the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation and is testament to the commitment of our local board, players, and international volunteers. The entire sporting world is rooting for our nation and wants to see us succeed.”
In December, 2022, the federation brought Oxford-based coach Lloyd Owers in as their technical director with the aim of laying the basics of playing football and to introduce it into school curriculums. This goal resulted in a number of soccer clinics being held in Majuro and, later, Ebeye. Then, last summer, the federation held the inaugural Outrigger Challenge Cup. This was a futsal tournament contested by local teams and squads from Kiribati and Micronesia. Kiribati beat the hosts 6-2 in the final.
According to the British website Sky Sports, “between August 13 and 16, the Marshall Islands will play their first 11 v 11 international games…Lloyd will lead the island nation against the US Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands.”
Lloyd told Sky Sports’ Dan Long: “Two years ago we could only dream about it and now it’s going to happen. It’s been a work in progress for a long time. Since we started everyone has been asking when the first game would be, but wanted to make sure the project was sustainable and we have the right things in the place first.
“We could have taken the safer option of doing the futsal (mini-football) again this year, but time is ticking.”
The President of the MISF, Shem Livai, said in a release: “The Soccer Federation is committed to providing opportunities for Marshallese people, wherever they are in the world, to represent their nation on the biggest stage. Although these matches…will be the toughest possible test, we are incredibly proud that our national soccer team stands on the brink of history.”
Vice-President Divine Waiti commented that they hope this event cements the Marshall Islands’ place on the top table of international soccer. “We want to inspire future generations to push themselves and train for the highest level.”
Eleven players and two officials will be included in the squad that will play at the tournament to be held at the Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium at Springdale High School.
“We’ll be announcing the full squad within the next few weeks, but there are four players and one coach coming from Majuro, plus seven players and one board member coming from Kwajalein,” said the Soccer Federation’s Matt Webb.
They are: Tony Theomae (Coach) and Scott Hill (Board Member).
Players from Majuro are Gabino Gallegos, Karios Zinihite, Cullen Turanga, and Charles Facer.
Players from Kwajalein are Danny Razook, Zach Hill, Ben Hill, Jaya Corder, Jon Koehler, Patrick Phelon, and Dominic Pace.
Matt added that the team will be supplemented by US-based Marshallese players.
- Federation Internationale de Football Association a.k.a. the International Federation of Association Football.