Football in American Samoa

Last updated
Football in American Samoa
CountryAmerican Samoa
Governing body American Samoa Football Association
National team(s) men's national team
women's national team
National competitions
Club competitions
International competitions

The sport of football in American Samoa is governed by the Football Federation American Samoa (FFAS), the nations football association. [1] [2] It was founded in 1984, and affiliated to FIFA and to the OFC in 1998. It organizes the FFAS Senior League (the national men's domestic football tournament), the FFAS Women's National League (the national women's domestic football tournament), the men's national team and the women's national team. [3]

Contents

American Samoa is one of the weakest footballing nations in the world, due to both its small population base and the overwhelming popularity of American football, basketball and baseball in the islands. [4] [5]

League Football

The American Samoan leagues are typically considered weak, with the small population and popularity of other sports strongly contributing to that. The FFAS Senior League was formed around 1980 though it is hard to know a reliable date. [6] It is not confirmed either when the FFAS Women's National League formed, but there were clubs as early as 1987 and the league continues to this day. [7]

The champions of the FFAS Senior League are eligible to take part in the OFC Champions League, though they have not always taken up the position. They compete in the preliminary round of the competition, with Utulei Youth gaining the territory's only victory to date in the 2016 edition. Otherwise they are limited to a handful of draws.

International football

The men's team famously hold the distinction of suffering the largest official loss in international football history, having been defeated by Australia 31–0 on April 11, 2001. [8] They have only recorded one victory in its history over Wallis and Futuna Islands in 1983 (3-0), when both teams were not yet members of FIFA (Wallis and Futuna Islands still is not). [9]

That appearance at the 1983 South Pacific Games would be the men's team's international debut, though opportunities would remain limited, particularly until their FIFA recognised debut at the 1998 Polynesia Cup. Results would continue to be limited, though positives would come from both the OFC Nations Cup and the Pacific Games, with victories over Tonga and the Cook Islands. They would also achieve draws against the Cook Islands and Tuvalu. Their first official victory came in November 2011, defeating Tonga 2–1 in the first round of OFC World Cup Qualification to record their second international victory after 38 consecutive defeats. [10] They have previously been ranked at the bottom of the FIFA Rankings but, as of August 2022 are ranked 188th. [11]

The women's national team would debut at the 1998 OFC Women's Championship, [12] losing 21-0 to Australia and 9-0 to Papua New Guinea. Appearances would be sporadic from then on, with their first draw coming against the Cook Islands in the 2007 Pacific Games. As of August 2022 they are ranked 142nd in the FIFA Women's World Rankings.

Related Research Articles

Oceania Football Confederation Confederation of soccer

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It promotes the game in Oceania and allows the member nations to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.

American Samoa national football team National association football team

The American Samoa national football team represents American Samoa in men's international association football and is controlled by the Football Federation American Samoa, the governing body of the sport in the territory. American Samoa's home ground is the Pago Park Soccer Stadium in Pago Pago and their head coach is Tunoa Lui.

Samoa national football team

The Samoa national association football team represents Samoa in men's international football and it is controlled by the Football Federation Samoa, the governing body for football in Samoa. Samoa's home ground is Toleafoa J. S. Blatter Soccer Stadium in Apia. It was known as the Western Samoa national football team until 1997.

Cook Islands national football team

The Cook Islands national football team is the men's football team that represents the Cook Islands in international competition since 1971. It is governed by the Cook Islands Football Association which is part of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and FIFA.

The American Samoa women's national football team represents American Samoa in international women's association football. The team is controlled by the Football Federation American Samoa (FFAS) and managed by Beulah Oney, a former player. The Veterans Memorial Stadium is their home ground and their only goalscorer is Jasmine Makiasi, with only one goal.

The Cook Islands women's national football team represents the Cook Islands in international women's football. The team is controlled by the Cook Islands Football Association. With a population of around 18,000 people it remains one of the smallest FIFA teams.

The Samoa women's national football team represents Samoa in international women's football. The team is controlled by the Football Federation Samoa.

Solomon Islands womens national football team Womens national association football team representing Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands women's national football team represents Solomon Islands in international women's association football. The team is controlled by the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) and is affiliated to the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). Their current head coach is the former footballer Timothy Inifiri.

Tonga womens national football team Womens national association football team representing Tonga

The Tonga women's national football team represents Tonga in international women's football. The team is controlled by the Tonga Football Association. Their best title was Third in the 2007 OFC Women's Championship.

Australia national under-17 soccer team National association football team

The Australia national under-17 soccer team represents Australia in men's international under-17 soccer. The team is controlled by the governing body for Football in Australia, Football Federation Australia (FFA), which is currently a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) since leaving the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) in 2006. The team's official nickname is the Joeys.

Football Federation American Samoa

Football Federation American Samoa (FFAS) is the governing body for competitive football in the nation of American Samoa.

Football in Tuvalu

Association football is the most popular sport in Tuvalu. Football in Tuvalu is governed by the Tuvalu National Football Association (TNFA). The TNFA became an associate member association of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) on 15 November 2006 with a further reinstatement in 16 March 2020. The TNFA has been wanting to become a full member of the OFC and a member of FIFA since 1987.

Jaiyah Saelua Football player from American Samoa

Jaiyah Tauasuesimeamativa Saelua is an American Samoan footballer who plays as a center back for the American Samoa national team.

Utulei Youth Football club

Utulei Youth are an association football team from Pago Pago in American Samoa. They play in the territory's top division, the FFAS Senior League. They have won the domestic league championship twice, in 2014 and 2015, and the domestic cup once, in 2014.

The Cook Islands national under-20 football team is the national U-20 team of the Cook Islands and is controlled by the Cook Islands Football Association. With a population of around 24,000 people it remains one of the smallest FIFA teams.

The Samoa national under-20 association football team represents Samoa in under-20 competitions and is controlled by the Football Federation Samoa, the governing body for football in Samoa. Samoa's U20 home ground is Toleafoa J.S Blatter Soccer Stadium in Apia. It was known as the Western Samoa national under-20 football team until 1997, following the renaming of the country. Samoa is a part of the FIFA Goal project.

The Oceanian section of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Qatar, for national teams which are members of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). A total of 0.5 slots in the final tournament were available for OFC teams, which equated to one inter-confederation play-off slot.

Gabriel Taumua is an American Samoan association footballer who plays for Pago Youth FC of the FFAS Senior League. Taumua has been described by Football in Oceania as, "the biggest talent in American Samoa".

Toru Mateariki is a Cook Islands footballer who currently plays for Nikao Sokattak and the Cook Islands national team.

References

  1. ↑ Rob Bagchi. "Amazing transformation of American Samoa from whipping boys to winners | Football | The Observer". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  2. ↑ "American Samoa's dream team with Thomas Rongen - Brent Latham - US Soccer - ESPN". Espn.go.com. 2011-12-08. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  3. ↑ "For American Samoa, a Win Ignites a World Cup Dream". The New York Times . Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  4. ↑ Goff, Steven (2011-10-13). "Thomas Rongen to oversee American Samoa in 2014 World Cup qualifying tournament - Soccer Insider". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
  5. ↑ "Samoa, a Football Hotbed, Gets Help". The New York Times . Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  6. ↑ "RSSSF - American Samoan men's league". rsssf.org. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  7. ↑ "FFAS - Sandra Frueans". ffas.as. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  8. ↑ Rookwood, Dan (April 11, 2001). "Aussie Rules as Socceroos smash world record again". The Guardian. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  9. ↑ Lee, Ben (December 6, 2013). "American Samoa football team celebrate first win in 18 years". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  10. ↑ Williams, Aidan The Uplifting Story of American Samoa's Footballing Redemption These Football Times. August 31, 2015
  11. ↑ "American Samoa and more upsets from bottom ranked international football teams". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  12. ↑ "Matildas Football Results" . Retrieved 4 August 2022.
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