Football selection from Pohnpei

Pohnpei

Association

Pohnpei Soccer Association

Technical sponsor

Puma (since 2010, before: adidas )

captain

Dilshan Senarathgoda

Home stadium

PICS Field, Kolonia

First jersey

statistics

First international match
not known
-

Biggest defeat Guam 16: 1 Pohnpei ( Koror , Palau ; July 1998)

(As of July 22, 2013)

The Pohnpei football selection is made up of a team from Pohnpei , one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia . It is neither a FIFA member nor a member of the Oceania Football Confederation .

history

The beginnings of football on Pohnpei go back to the late 1980s. The Ghanaian Thomas Tetteh built the first team. Tetteh trained among others Paul Cantero, Edwin Sione and Bob and Robert Paul. 1998 represented a football selection Pohnpei at the Micronesian Games (English: Micronesian Games ). Pohnpei came in last among six participants. In 2001, the state took part in the Micronesian Games soccer competition for a second time. This time there were only three participants. Pohnpei again took last place. In these games, the team achieved a 1-1 draw against Yap , which is the best documented result in the history of Pohnpei's football selection to date. In 2003, the Federated States of Micronesia took first with a football team to the South Pacific Games (English: South Pacific Games ) part, eight players were in the from Pohnpei. The Federated States of Micronesia were unsuccessful at football, which continued to reduce interest in the sport. The Ugandan Charles Musana became the team's new coach. He tried to keep football alive on Pohnpei, as Pohnpei's selection had never played a game again since 2001. According to Musana, baseball and basketball are far more popular sports on the island and there is a lack of sponsorship and government support. Midfielder Dilshan Senarathgoda has been a coach since 2007. In 2009, 25-year-old sports journalist Paul Watson and 25-year-old film student Matthew Conrad from London applied to train . They received a commitment and were allowed to train players for the first time in July. This caused a stir in the British media. It reported, among others, The Daily Telegraph , The Sun and the BBC about the commitment of the two Englishmen in the "worst football team in the world" as it was dubbed by some. The English clubs Norwich City , Yeovil Town , Tottenham Hotspur and Bristol City donated jerseys to the team. In 2009, a tournament called Liberation Day Games and the Premier League of Pohnpei (English: Pohnpei Premier League ), in which five clubs play. On October 6, 2010, the Pohnpei soccer team played a friendly against the Guamian national soccer team . Pohnpei lost 0-3. The Guam Football Association donated soccer shoes, soccer balls, and jerseys to Pohnpei.

Results at the Micronesia Games

So far, the team has only played against other national teams at the regional Micronesia Games. Chuuk and Yap are just regional selections of the respective states (just like Pohnpei itself is).

date	opponent	Result	Venue	competition	comment
July 27, 1998	Guam Guam	1:16	Koror , Palau	Micronesia Games 1998
July 28, 1998	Palau Palau	1: 7	Koror , Palau	Micronesia Games 1998
July 30, 1998	Yap Yap	3: 4 (?)	Koror , Palau	Micronesia Games 1998
July 31, 1998	Palau Palau B	2:13 (?)	Koror , Palau	Micronesia Games 1998	Palau competed with two teams
August 1, 1998	Mariana Islands Northern Northern Mariana Islands	1:12 (?)	Koror , Palau	Micronesia Games 1998	The results of the tournament are not complete, some results have been reconstructed from the final table
August 3, 1998	Yap Yap	4: 5 n.e.	Koror , Palau	Micronesia Games 1998, play for 5th place	It is not known whether the 4-5 only counts for the penalty shoot-out or whether the goals from regular time were included
July 2001	Yap Yap	1: 1	?	Micronesia Games 2001
July 2001	Chuuk Chuuk	1: 2	?	Micronesia Games 2001
July 25, 2014	Palau Palau	3: 1	Pohnpei , Micronesia	Micronesia Games 2014
July 26, 2014	Yap Yap	4-0	Pohnpei , Micronesia	Micronesia Games 2014
27./28. July 2014	Chuuk Chuuk	3: 2	Pohnpei , Micronesia	Micronesia Games 2014	Due to heavy rain, the second half (half-time score 2: 1) was continued the next day
29th July 2014	Palau Palau	3: 1	Pohnpei , Micronesia	Micronesia Games 2014, final