It was not the typical reaction to a national team going down 4-0. But, of course, this was not a typical national team match.
After the Marshall Islands conceded a fourth goal to the US Virgin Islands, the crowd came to its feet, some waving flags. “This is the RMI! Keep your head up!” one fan yelled.
Marshall Islands had famously been considered to be the last country in the world without an international soccer team. Now, officially, they have joined the party – an accomplishment big enough that the 4-0 loss in the opening game seemed to hardly matter. The team followed the loss by puting on a good show Saturday, scoring the first and second goals in Marshall Islands history in a 3-2 defeat to Turks and Caicos Islands.
Springdale, Arkansas had been carefully chosen by organizers of the first-ever Marshall Islands match. In a quirk of immigration, Northwest Arkansas is home to around 15,000 Marshallese, drawn to the area for decades thanks to a Compact of Free Association (Cofa) that allows Marshallese to enter the US and work legally.
That’s why, despite the loss, the team was jubilant after the final whistle, feeding off the continuing applause and cheers from a fanbase simply happy to be represented.
“Today’s event means a lot to the Marshallese community, to see people waving our flag and having a team to represent the Marshall Islands has been very touching to a lot of community members,” said Anjanette Anjel, the consul general for the RMI consulate in Springdale. “Everyone is very proud of the team and really excited for the games.”
That excitement built among the crowd at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium – the home of Springdale High School athletics – until the Marshall Islands national team came out of the locker room for the first time. Then, they let loose.
“The roar when the first whistle went was deafening. Singing the national anthem with the people around us was incredible,” manager Lloyd Owers said after the game. “We hope that Northwest Arkansas is home for us for a long time, We’ve been welcomed with open arms and have had such a good experience.”
That Owers, who was named technical director of the Marshall Islands in late 2022, and the largely English group spearheading the effort to bring the Marshall Islands into the global footballing community, received such a warm welcome is no small feat.
“Marshallese people don’t trust people on the outside,” says Stephanie Takamaru of the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese. They may have good reason not to. While many left the Marshall Islands for the US for economic opportunities, others were forced to leave because of the effects of United States nuclear testing at Bikini and Enewetak Atolls.
Now, despite the Cofa allowing Marshallese to legally enter and work in the US, both the consulate and Takamaru’s organization are working with residents who face an uncertain path to American citizenship.
“One of the biggest issues we’re coming across right now is Ice has been very active in the area,” Takamaru said. “We don’t have a visa, we only have the I-94, which is your form coming through border patrol saying you’re legal, and the passport.”
The setup is unfamiliar to some in law enforcement. Takamaru said some Marshallese have been let go by their employers after questioning. Those challenges, however, have only increased the feelings of solidarity in the Marshallese community in Arkansas and beyond, and the new national team slotted right into the growing feeling of pride and the desire for representation.
“We’re all oneness and together when it comes to big events and life events,” Takamaru said. “The national team is getting a huge fanbase out here. That’s really cool to see. Having that on the international level is such a statement for our tiny island.”
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Soccer, however, is not the sport of choice in the Marshall Islands or among its diaspora in the US. Arkansas resident Thompson Hertin said he plays a number of sports with his friends but was surprised to learn the Marshall Islands would be represented in soccer.
“Soccer is not known for us Marshallese people,” he said before Thursday’s game. “We play basketball, volleyball, but soccer?”
The group had just five training sessions prior to Thursday night’s debut and weren’t sure what to expect when it came to a style of play. Some players on the islands typically play futsal and bring different techniques than US-based players who came up in American clubs.
“Now that we know how we play in general and our weaknesses as a team, we have a couple days to prepare for another team that has been in Fifa for a while,” center back Josiah Blanton said of the next match v Turks & Caicos, in which they would score the country’s first two goals. “The fact we could come out with a 4-0 after never playing was great.”
The nature of sports means that a team can only accept losses for so long, but Owers feels his squad should feel happy with the performance and noted it doesn’t need to change much to secure a result in the team’s second match of the Outrigger Challenge Cup.
“If it was 20-0 would anyone have cared? Because it was sort of expected. We’ve gone in, 2-0 in both halves. That is unbelievable, and everyone should be so, so proud of this,” Owers said. “Now, we’ve got a different focus. This bit is gone. Saturday, we genuinely come out with different expectations. We don’t come out to make the numbers up, we come out to beat Turks and Caicos.”
Even if the wait for the first point and the first win continue past Saturday, the fans in Arkansas will continue to repay the team with support and adoration. It may be atypical, but they’re thankful to have a team that is theirs.
