Soccer OFC: Marshall Islands has a federation and a dream of building a soccer field

In this article we will analyze how football develops on this small island in Oceania.

Writer by Sports & News Continental | From New Zealand, OFC

#Episode4 OFC SOCCER ANALYSIS

This country, a sovereign state in free association with the United States.

The Marshall Islands are a group of coral atolls with limited land and no space for an official-sized soccer field. Despite the challenges, the situation is changing. In 2020, the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation (MISF) was created with the goal of organizing soccer in the country and, one day, forming a national team to compete at the international level. The Marshall Islands made their official men's soccer debut. The match took place recently, on August 14, 2025, in a friendly tournament in the United States. Match Details: Opponent: U.S. Virgin Islands National Team Score: Marshall Islands 0-4 U.S. Virgin Islands Tournament: Outrigger Challenge Cup Venue: Springdale, Arkansas, United States The match was a moment of great celebration for the Marshall Islands Football Federation, as the country was the only UN member state that had never played an international match. The debut, which took place outside the country due to the lack of official-sized fields on the islands, marked the end of a historic wait. The sport is not traditional and is surpassed by other activities such as basketball and baseball.

Initiatives such as the OFC's, with FIFA's support, to add regional content to FIFA+ and also the possible creation of the OFC Professional League will professionalize the region's elite and consequently bring the spotlight to countries where football is still.

In short, although football has a federation, having the limitation of building an official field is an obstacle, they are still in the maturation phase to be able to take the next step in the future, which would be to create the national team and an official league, but they are not far from participating in the qualifiers for the 2028 OFC Nations Cup, the creation of a federation is a big step.