The Federated States of Micronesia, or simply Micronesia, is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states – from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae – that are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise around 607 islands that cover a longitudinal distance of almost 2,700 km (1,678 mi) just north of the equator. They lie northeast of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, south of Guam and the Marianas, west of Nauru and the Marshall Islands, east of Palau and the Philippines, about 2,900 km (1,802 mi) north of eastern Australia, 3,400 km (2,133 mi) southeast of Japan, and some 4,000 km (2,485 mi) southwest of the main islands of the Hawaiian Islands.
The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an independent island country near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the International Date Line. Geographically, the country is part of the larger island group of Micronesia. The country's population of 58,413 people is spread out over five islands and 29 coral atolls, comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets. The capital and largest city is Majuro. It has the largest portion of its territory composed of water of any sovereign state, at 97.87%. The islands share maritime boundaries with Wake Island to the north, Kiribati to the southeast, Nauru to the south, and Federated States of Micronesia to the west. About 52.3% of Marshall Islanders live on Majuro. In 2016, 73.3% of the population were defined as being "urban". The UN also indicates a population density of 760 inhabitants per square mile (295/km2), and its projected 2020 population is 59,190.
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and Melanesia to the south—as well as with the wider community of Austronesian peoples.
The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994.
The Micronesians or Micronesian peoples are various closely related ethnic groups native to Micronesia, a region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They are a part of the Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, which has an Urheimat in Taiwan.
Chuukese, also rendered Trukese, is a Chuukic language of the Austronesian language family spoken primarily on the islands of Chuuk in the Caroline Islands in Micronesia. There are communities of speakers on Pohnpei, Guam, and the Hawaiian Islands as well. Estimates show that there are about 45,900 speakers in Micronesia.
The Federated States of Micronesia national football team is the national team of the Federated States of Micronesia and is controlled by the Federated States of Micronesia Football Association. The team is not a member of FIFA, or a regional confederation, and therefore cannot compete in the World Cup.
Niue Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in Niue. It was founded in 1952, and became affiliated to the World Rugby in 1999.
The Palau national football team represents Palau in international football. The team is not affiliated with FIFA or a local confederation. The team play their home games at the PCC Track and Field Stadium in the town of Koror City.
The Northern Mariana Islands national football team represents the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in international men's football. The team is controlled by the governing body for football in the Northern Mariana Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, which is a member of the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) and since December 2020 a full member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The association is not a member of the world governing body FIFA, although it had applied for membership, and so while the national team is eligible to enter AFC and EAFF-run competitions, they are currently ineligible for global competitions such as the FIFA World Cup. As such, they do not have an official FIFA ranking. However, the team have been consistently ranked as one of the worst teams in the world on the Elo ratings and were in fact, in July 2016 rated as the worst men's senior international team in the world in a ratings system that also includes a number of other non-FIFA teams. Following the completion of the preliminary qualifying round for the 2017 EAFF East Asian Cup the team have won only one official competitive match against international opposition and have a goal difference of −78 in official matches. The team have never qualified for the finals of a major tournament and beyond friendlies and qualifying matches, their only official competition has been in an exhibition tournament in the regional Micronesian Games in 1998, which they won, to date their only tournament success.
Micronesian mythology comprises the traditional belief systems of the people of Micronesia. There is no single belief system in the islands of Micronesia, as each island region has its own mythological beings.
Non-FIFA international football is the segment of international football that is not overseen by FIFA. FIFA is the international governing body of association football, overseeing football globally and with running international representative matches. However, some international football takes place outside its purview. This often consists of matches involving sub-national entities such as islands, colonies, or autonomous regions. Representative matches also occur involving states with limited international recognition who are unable to qualify for FIFA membership. There are also a limited number of states whose representative teams are not affiliated to FIFA. Historically, a number of competitions occurred outside FIFA's auspices. Member associations are national associations, usually affiliated to continental confederations which are subordinate to FIFA.
Federated States Of Micronesia–United States relations are bilateral relations between the Federated States Of Micronesia and the United States of America.
Rugby union in Guam is a minor but growing sport. They are currently ranked 82nd by the IRB. Although Guam is often considered part of Oceania, it tends to take part in Asian rugby tournaments.
The Oceania Athletics Championships is an athletics event organized by the Oceania Athletics Association (OAA) for the World Athletics (WA) member associations of the Oceania region. First held in 1990 in Suva, it was initially conceived as a quadrennial event however after the second edition in 1994, the championships changed to a biennial event. After the 2010 championships there were significant changes in the format of the competition. Now being held as a regional championships, the associations were divided into two divisions based on there geographical location either east or west. However, the competition was revised back to its original format as an area championships in 2013.
Rugby union in the Federated States of Micronesia is a minor but growing sport.
The Federated States of Micronesia national under-23 football team, nicknamed the Four Stars, is the national U-23 football team representing the Federated States of Micronesia and is controlled by the Federated States of Micronesia Football Association. The team is managed by Australian coach Stan Foster, with the assistant manager Curtis Graham.
This is a list of all the recorded matches played by the Northern Mariana Islands national football team, which represents the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in international men's football. The team is controlled by the governing body for football in the Northern Mariana Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, which is a member of the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) and since December 2020 a full member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).