When the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) football team made global headlines last month after conceding 114 goals in three matches, many thought they would throw in the towel.
But the players, who lost 30 to 0 against Tahiti, 38-0 for Fijiand then 46-0 for Vanuatu at the Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea – have vowed to stay on the field.
Micronesia football coach Stan Foster remains optimistic despite the country’s humiliating defeats at the Pacific Games. (ABC: Richard Ewart)
Stan Foster, the team’s Australian coach, said at the time that he was not concerned about the blowouts and that the competition was about gaining experience for his players.
But after the match in PNG, some players struggled to find a word to explain the defeats.
In their match against Vanuatu, they conceded a goal every two minutes.
It was even suggested that some of them might need counseling to get over the trauma of it all.
But ultimately, that wasn’t necessary because “there was no trauma,” Foster said.
“When we came back, everyone was very supportive,” he said.
“The people of my island, Yap, said it was just wonderful that their children had gone abroad and opened up to the world.
“They thought it was just wonderful that their children could participate in an international tournament.
“It’s almost unheard of here, there aren’t many opportunities to go further than Guam for any type of sport.”
Many players were still in school and most had never been out of their home country before.
Foster said one of the players now has plans to join a soccer league on Guam, while two others are also considering a similar path.
(Reuters)
Micronesia confident of improvement by next Pacific Games
Such is the enthusiasm of the FSM team that Foster is already looking ahead to the next Pacific Games in Tonga in 2019, and beyond to 2023.
He believes that by then the team will have improved enough to be competitive, at least among Pacific teams.
The coach said he takes inspiration from Guam, which last competed in the Pacific Games in 2011, and which has suffered some tough blows (but nothing on the scale of Micronesia’s brutal experience in Port Moresby).
“We have a very close relationship,” Foster said.
We couldn’t have gotten this far without the donation of shoes, balls and other equipment.
“I was talking to the general secretary of the Guam Football Association, Tino San Gil, and he told me it was a start for you guys, you were where we were 25 years ago, and look where we are now!”
Now a member of the Asian Football Confederation, Guam shocked the football community by winning its two opening matches of World Cup qualifying, beating Turkmenistan and India, to move to the top of its group.
“What we lack is the funding that Guam has because of the U.S. military presence on the island, but the U.S. military has been very supportive,” Foster said.
“We couldn’t have gotten this far without the donation of boots, balls and other equipment that allowed us to expand our school program and local league.
“Even the uniforms that the players wore at the Pacific Games came from Guam, that was their reserve uniform.”
Micronesia concedes a goal in their 38-0 loss to Fiji at the Pacific Games. (GNS: Kevin Darling)
FIFA Affiliation Hopes
Foster now hopes that FIFA, world football’s governing body, will step in and offer help to the Micronesian team.
He returned from the Pacific Games on the same plane as a FIFA delegate sent to inspect the facilities and chart the development of grassroots football in the FSM.
“He gave us a positive report,” Foster said.
“He was very impressed with everything and now we are waiting to see if we will become affiliated with FIFA; we are hoping for a decision in November.”
I feel like I’m on the threshold of a whole new team sport here in Micronesia.
And if the answer is yes, it would open up a whole host of funding opportunities and also provide access to FIFA’s technical advisors and their development programs, many of which have already been deployed elsewhere in the Pacific in recent years.
“I feel like we’re on the cusp of a whole new team sport here in Micronesia,” Foster said.
“Maybe in my lifetime some kids will get scholarships abroad, in the United States or maybe Asia. I would just like to see football progress here.
“Football has been booming for three years in Yap, and it is also growing on the other islands, Chuuk and Pohnpei.”
And it looks like soccer fans around the world will be cheering for Foster and his team.
“I have done interviews for television channels in Britain, Portugal, Canada, Colombia and Brazil,” he said.
“So at least people know where we are now and that we are far from Indonesia.”
