Pohnpei Premier League

Pohnpei Premier League

Founded	2009 [1]
Country	Federated States of Micronesia
Number of clubs	4
Level on pyramid	1
Current champions	Island Pitbulls (8th title) (2022)
Most championships	Island Pitbulls (8 titles) [2]

Pohnpei Premier League is the top flight football league in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, established in 2009. ^{[3] [4]}

History

In 2009, English journalist Paul Watson and his friend Matthew Conrad established the Pohnpei Premier League, which had its first season from October to December of that year. ^{[5] [6]}

During that season, there were five clubs, including the Pitbulls, the SDA, International FC, C.O.M.-FSM FC, and the Island Warriors. ^[4] The Island Pitbulls competed in shirts donated by English side Yeovil Town, and originated from the College of Micronesia and church groups. ^[7] The Pitbulls won both the pre-season Liberation Games, as well as the final "showdown" match of the league against SDA, with a score of 5–2. ^[4]

The best players from the league were then offered the chance to train to be in the Pohnpei national team. ^[8] In October 2010, Pohnpei won its first football victory in history against a second division club team in Guam. ^[6]

References

1. "The Micronesian Times". 27 February 2010. Archived from the original on 2023-08-04.
2. "Pohnpei - League". rsssf.org.
3. "How to Become an International Soccer Coach". vice.com. 21 June 2013.
4. Cooper, Ian (24 February 2010). "Up Pohnpei – it's Paul's island dream". Brent & Kilburn Times. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
5. "MEET POHNPEI, THE PACIFIC ISLANDERS BATTLING TO BECOME FIFA'S 212TH MEMBER". thesefootballtimes.co. 3 September 2017.
6. Watson, Paul (September 2023). "POHNPEI A DECADE ON". Four Four Two. No. 356. pp. 60–65. Retrieved 2024-05-27– via EBSCOHost.
7. "Why Micronesia must be allowed to join FIFA". sport360.com (Archived). Archived from the original on 2023-08-04.
8. "Pohnpei's 'Premier League': How Soccer Returned To A Small Island". wbur.org. 6 September 2019.