1998 Micronesian Games
The Northern Mariana Islands made their international debut in an exhibition football tournament associated with the 1998 Micronesia Games. [2] The original governing body for football in the Northern Mariana Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands Soccer Federation had been accepted as an associate member of the Oceania Football Confederation, but this was the first time records indicated they had participated in any international tournament. [2]
The tournament was officially called the W.C.T.C. Shell Soccer Exhibition and was a demonstration event only at the games, not having medal status. [3] Furthermore, the tournament did not meet established regulations; the matches played were only 9-a-side, the games lasted only 80 minutes and the pitch was smaller than regulation size. [3]
Nonetheless, the Northern Mariana Islands team performed well in the group stage playing against Guam, Palau, Yap (then considered essentially the Federated States of Micronesia national football team), a team representing the Micronesian state of Pohnpei and a "Palau B" team consisting of Bangladeshis living on Palau. [3] The team won their first two matches 8–0 against Palau B and Yap respectively. A 2–1 loss to Guam in their third game was quickly forgotten as they went on to record resounding victories in their final two group games defeating Palau 12–1 and Pohnpei 11–2 to finish second in the group with a +35 goal difference after their five games, qualifying for the final match. [3] [4]
The team avenged their earlier group stage defeat to Guam in the final, beating them 3–0 to claim the tournament title. [3] Charles Kewo and Christopher Guerrero scored in the opening quarter of an hour to give the Northern Mariana Islands a 2–0 half time lead, a lead they extended in the second half through an unknown goalscorer (although other sources suggest Guerrero was the scorer [2] ) to seal their victory. [3]
1999 Micronesian Cup
The following year, the team travelled to Yap to compete the first Micronesian Soccer Cup. [5] This was a three team tournament consisting of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and an international team known as Crushers (or Crusaders according to other sources). [5] Their performance here was less successful than at the Micronesian Games the previous year. In their first game, they lost 7–0 to the Federated States of Micronesia. [5] It is not recorded whether they played their other group match against Crushers / Crusaders, but given that the final was contested between the Federated States of Micronesia and Crushers / Crusaders, it can be extrapolated that if the match did take place, the best result the Northern Mariana Islands could have achieved was a draw.
Hiatus
The country then entered something of a hiatus in footballing terms. The original governing body for football in the country, the Northern Mariana Islands Soccer Federation became defunct sometime between 2002 and 2003 and after that, no international competition took place until the current governing body, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association (NMIFA) was founded in 2005. [2] Around this time, reports indicate that there was no official men's football of any kind in the country. In 2006, discussions were held with the NMIFA concerning the establishment of an official men's league. [6] At the time it was hoped that the establishment of an official men's competition would provide the means by which players who could meet the citizenship and eligibility criteria to represent the country at future tournaments might become involved. [6] Under the auspices of the Northern Mariana Islands Soccer Federation, teams entered into tournaments such as the 1998 Micronesian Games included a number of foreign players working on Saipan as contractors. This was not uncommon in the area at this time and some other teams also included players of similar status. For the Northern Mariana Islands specifically, the only eligibility requirements players needed to fulfill was a two-year residency. [2]
Return
In December 2006, the East Asian Football Federation admitted the Northern Mariana Islands as a provisional member. [2] This membership entitled them to a $120,000 annual grant from the EAFF to further football development in the country. [7] The EAFF then granted full membership in September 2008. [8]
Marianas Cup (2007–2008)
Following their acceptance as an associate member of the EAFF, their first participation in EAFF competition was in the 2008 East Asian Football Championship Preliminary Round, a two legged tie against Guam. The first leg, played in Saipan, resulted in a 3–2 loss for the Northern Mariana Islands [9] Mark McDonald twice equalized after Guam had taken the lead only for Zachary Pangelinan to score the winning goal in the 72nd minute. [9] Nonetheless, the performance of the home team was positively received and was still remarked upon a year later. [10] Unfortunately the return leg in Hagatna a week later produced a much more one-sided result as Guam were victorious 9–0, Pangelinan scoring five times and four other players scoring once [9] to ensure that Guam not only progressed to the next round of the EAFF competition but also that they were the winners of the inaugural Marianas Cup, a perpetual trophy contested each time the two nations play each other. [10]
The two teams met again the following year in Saipan and for the third time in a row, Guam were the victors. [11] Guam took the lead halfway through the first half through David Manibusan, but Joe Wang Miller equalized four minutes later and the teams went into half time tied at 1–1. [11] Guam again took the lead in the 52nd minute through and own goal but the Northern Mariana Islands equalized with ten minutes left in normal time through Steven McKagen. [11] With the teams tied at the end of 90 minutes, two periods of extra time of seven and a half minutes were played and in the 95th minute, Matthew Cruz scored the deciding goal with Guam running out victors 3–2 and retaining the Marianas Cup. [11] Although there was disappointment in not winning, national newspapers commented that the performance was an improvement over the "shocking" 9–0 defeat in their previous encounter. [11]
AFC membership (2009–present)
Prior to their AFC membership being accepted, the team made the short trip to Yona, Guam to compete in the preliminary round of the 2010 East Asian Football Championship. This time, instead of the two-legged playoffs against Guam contested in the previous edition, the Northern Mariana Islands took part in a four team group, the winner of which would advance to the next round. The team was drawn against hosts Guam, Mongolia and Macau. [12] The team prepared for the tournament for several months prior to departing for Guam, although in that time, they were only able to train with new coach Sugao Kambe for a month. [13] It was acknowledged by their coach prior to their departure that they would be the least experienced of the four teams competing at this stage [13] and this was to prove true as they lost all three of their games: 6–1 to Macau, 2–1 to Guam (a third successive Marianas Cup victory for Guam) and 4–1 to Mongolia. [12] The team returned home without a positive result, although it was noted in the national press that they had been able to score in each of their three games. [14]
In July 2009, the AFC Executive Committee agreed to accept the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association (NMIFA) as an associate member of the Asian Football Confederation, [15] after the association received permission for release from the Oceania Football Confederation in June 2009, paving the way to join AFC. [16] It was the NMIFA which resigned from the OFC, despite it being the earlier governing body, the Northern Mariana Islands Soccer Federation which had become a member in the first place. [2]
First draw
On 19 June 2010, Northern Mariana Islands earned a 1–1 draw with neighbor Guam in the 2010 Marianas Cup. [2] The match ended in a draw as there was insufficient lighting to continue the match after the end of regulation. Joe Wang Miller scored for the NMI in the 68th minute and Jason Cunliffe answered in the 89th minute to salvage a draw for Guam.
Despite the efforts of the NMIFA, delays in decision making around whether the 2011 Pacific Games football tournament would double as a FIFA World Cup qualifying event meant that the national team were unable to enter. [17] As a result, no games were played for the next two years until July 2012 when The Blue Ayuyus entered the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup First Preliminary Round, hosted again by Guam. [18] New coach Chikashi Suzuki was conscious of the need to snap the losing run of matches against Guam, had recognized that previous squads had contained a large number of veteran players and called up a number of younger players such as Lucas Knecht and Bo Barry who were playing college and high school football respectively in the United States. [18] However, the team still included a wide age range of players, Enrico del Rosario and Brian Lee were the youngest at 15 with Dan Westphal the oldest at 42. [19]
Optimism that the team might finally be able to beat Guam appeared well placed when Joe Wang Miller opened the scoring for the Northern Mariana Islands, but two fouls from William Dunn allowed Guam to score through a penalty and a free kick before a handball from Kirk Schuler gifted Guam their third goal [20] confirming a fourth defeat out of five games against Guam. [2] Despite the result, the team expressed confidence that they would be able to beat Macau, the other team in the three team qualification group, who still had to play Guam, and potentially secure the single qualifying berth for the next round. [21] However, this confidence was to be misplaced. Macau took a 2–0 lead at half time, despite resolute defending from the Blue Ayuyus in the first twenty minutes, and although Kirk Schuler was able to halve the deficit in the 51st minute, Macau scored three more goals, including a penalty to eliminate the Northern Mariana Islands at the first hurdle for the third consecutive time. [22]
In 2013, the team played their first ever series of matches against opposition from outside the EAFF, taking part in the qualifying rounds for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup. [23] With the football federation founded only a year prior to the inaugural edition of the AFC Challenge Cup, the team not only had to acclimatize to the elevated environment in which they would be playing, they would also have to face some very strong teams in the shape of Palestine, Bangladesh and Nepal [23]
In their opening game against Nepal, they were dominated from the start, with Bharat Khawas opening the scoring in the fourth minute and completing his hat trick in the 72nd, with three other Nepalese players completing a 6–0 rout. [24] In their second match they fared even worse, losing 9–0 to Palestine, the middle-eastern team scoring four times in the first half and five in the second. [25] Despite already being eliminated following their initial two defeats, the Blue Ayuyus defense performed well in their final game, despite losing 4–0 to Bangladesh, the team managed to keep the scoreline respectable with the result flattering Bangladesh as they scored two very late goals. [26]
First victory
2014 saw a return to EAFF Cup qualifying for the fourth time, drawn again in a qualifying group containing the weakest four nations in terms of ranking: Guam, Mongolia and Macau. [27] Following an initial 4–0 loss to Mongolia, [27] on 23 July 2014, the Northern Mariana Islands recorded their first ever international win in a match against Macau. Nicolas Swaim and Kirk Schuler scored to beat Macau, 2–1. [28] Following the historic victory, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association held a celebratory dinner in honour of the team's victory. [29] Younger players commented to national media about how proud they were to be a part of the victory, while older players reflected on how their first matches consisted of a team of veteran players trying to achieve a respectable result and that the victory was the result of years of hard work behind the scenes. [29] Unfortunately, the team was not able to carry this momentum into their final game and again lost to Guam, this time 5–0. [27] They were again eliminated at the first hurdle.
No further international matches were played until the 2017 EAFF East Asian Cup qualifying competition. During the send off to the competition, Ralph Torres, the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands committed to the team that the government would provide a new pitch in Koblerville, the ground breaking for which it took place in October 2016. [30] The team was not able to repeat the comparative successes of the previous qualifying campaign however, losing all three games and being eliminated at the first stage again. the team lost their first match against Chinese Taipei 8–1, a result made all the more easy for their opponents once striker Joe Wang Miller was sent off for a second yellow card in added time at the end of the first half. [31] A second loss followed against Macau, 3–1 [32] before the campaign was rounded out with a third loss, 8–0, to Mongolia. [33] The team were not aided in their qualifying campaign by a pre-tournament training camp in the Philippines which saw a large number of the squad taken ill. [34] The team played three friendly matches against club sides. Prior to their second match, five of the squad were in hospital and a further five or six were recovering from a bacterial infection that had struck the squad. [34] Nonetheless, they fulfilled all three matches. The results of the first two were not released, but the final match was a 5–1 loss to Kaya. [34]
Northern Mariana Islands 8–0 Yap 
Palau 1–12 Northern Mariana Islands 
Fiji 10–0 Northern Mariana Islands 
