The coach of the last country without football

The first problem of the last country on the planet without soccer teams or national teams is not the lack of personnel. Nor some political or government initiatives to carry out an ambitious sports project. The first problem is sea level rise caused by the melting of the polar ice caps. Every year, sea floods damage areas and plantations, not to mention when drought strikes like in 2013 or the salinization of aquifers. Some studies indicate that by 2030, large areas will be flooded.

The Marshall Islandsa paradise-like place like other islands of Peaceful in the popular imagination for decades, another natural disaster holds a bad memory: the nuclear tests conducted by the Americans between 1946 and 1958, which displaced the entire population of the Atoll of Bikini and left many local health consequences.

Even so, the excitement of having a national team and being able to compete in other islands in Micronesia Games and, imitating their neighbors American Samoasome past eliminatory of a World Cup (as we have seen in others Outsiders ‘Next Goal Wins’, the film of American Samoa’s feat), overcomes the obstacles of this small country.

Marshallese Arkansas

Lloyd Owers (Chelmsford, Essex, England, 34 years old) became, by rare combinations of fate, the one chosen to carry out a monumental task: to establish the academic method to form a base of worthy players. In his previous work he was a talent scout for Mansfield Town FC and U23 coach at City of Oxford. Now he combines his work as head coach of the national team with a position as assistant coach in Kidlington FC (Division One of the Southern League), where he has served as Academy director.

What he found when he arrived Marshall Islands It was absolutely devastating: “When we started in January 2023 there was nothing. “No league, no playing field, no material.”

The Marshall Islands They consist of 29 atolls (24 of which are inhabited) and five main islands with a total population of 42,000 souls. Majuro This is its capital and is no more than 10 meters high. This island spread covers a maritime area of ​​about one million square km, however, the surface area does not reach 176 square km. Because it is a trusted territory of USA Until 1990 and due to lack of opportunities, many islanders emigrated. Arkansas received 30,000 Marshallese and went there Owers and his team to recruit players. His first option was to post a message on Twitter asking Mashallese children abroad if they wanted to join the national team.

A new stadium

The history of the selection of Marshall Islands will begin in December 2020 when Shem Livaidirector of an energy company in the islands with Divine Waitia lawyer from Solomon Islands football mad and Claire Loeakprosecutor and grandson of the president of the republic, decided to create Marshall Islands Soccer Federation (MISF) have a national team. Although they cannot carry out, the assignment of fixing the Micronesia Games (8 countries), they all have national soccer teams, the perfect incentive.

When Owers He completed his postgraduate studies at the English Federation and obtained his title in coaching UEFA, created a blog (coachdevelopment.uk) where he decided to organize some question and answer sessions about tactics and training. Surprisingly, he talked to members of the national team of Samoa. It gradually became known to players and fans of Micronesia until Shem Livai contacted him and asked him to prepare a report on how he could build a football program from scratch for Marshall Islands Soccer Federation. He is convinced Livai which ended up taking him.

indoor soccer league

The main stadium was inaugurated in July on the island of Majuro on land reclaimed from the sea with an athletics track. Majurowith 23,000 inhabitants and an area of ​​6 square km, does not yet have a football field and matches are arranged on any flat space suitable.

The first training sessions were conducted on an indoor track. He created a four-team indoor soccer league. Knowing how to handle the ball well in small spaces is essential to mastering the game. Lloyd developed a program for schools and the government agreed to include football in physical education lessons. He also taught 23 teachers how to organize entertaining soccer practice games. With more and more Marshallese leaving, soccer could be a good reason to encourage them to stay.

Global phenomenon

Lloyd and his British colleague, the director of communications Justin Walley and the commercial director Matt Webb, set out to increase the project’s sponsorship and profile. That includes a competition, in April 2023, to design the country’s crest and soccer jersey and sell it. “When the requests came in, we realized how popular the project was. We sold 400 in three weeks in 40 different countries.” Today, every week they sell a hundred national team shirts to fans carried away by the amateurism and romanticism of the last country in the world where no reached by football.