The Soccermen

Coming from England, I’ve played soccer all my life and the benefits are undeniable for the individual and the community. It’s a way for a country to come together in common cause and compete as one in the world’s most popular sport. Unfortunately, many Pacific nations are excluded from the global football family. The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is one of the seven countries in the world that are not in FIFA. Five of these countries are remote Pacific nations. As outliers, Pacific nations miss out on funding, coaching, and competitions, not to mention the health and welfare benefits for a young society to have access to this sport. This is unjust. FSM is spread over 1 million square miles of ocean, which makes it prohibitively expensive for their soccer team to practice and compete. The only way they can compete without FIFA funding is as states. The state of Pohnpei was once considered (by some random on Wikipedia) the least successful Micronesian soccer team and the worst team in the world. That was enough for me and my roommate, Paul Watson, to sign up as coaches and try to change the future of Pohnpei soccer but also the future of the sport in Micronesia. This started as a youthful lark, even with intentions of nationalizing and playing for the team, but as the months and years wore on, we were determined to make a lasting and meaningful difference. After two years of hard work in the burning Pacific sun and the torrential rain, we got to know the players intimately. While Micronesian and British life are, of course, very different, we all struggle with the same obstacles: loss, isolation, and depression. Coaching this team and making this movie reaffirmed my belief that football can provide a life-changing outlet for young people, and Micronesia deserves the same opportunities to experience the sport the way that 99.9% of the rest of the world does. When we helped Pohnpei win their first-ever competitive game in Guam, it was a historic moment. It helped galvanize soccer in the FSM, and soccer started springing up in Yap and Chuuk. Unfortunately, still without funding, FSM was unable to compete on the international stage. When they played Vanuatu in the Pacific Games, they suffered a world record loss of 46-0. At that point, I was in post-production on this movie, and the ending seemed to fall flat as this was a huge setback for soccer in the FSM, and COVID all but wiped out the fragile soccer program. Then in 2023, a 17-year-old kid from Georgia with a Micronesian grandfather reached out to us, saying he wanted to reinvigorate football, restart the national team, and get Micronesian soccer back on track. His name was Kenny Aldana. He organized and fundraised an inter-state tournament, reformed the soccer association and the national team, and is about to lead the team back to Guam for its first international matches in years. Without Kenny, this would have never happened. But it shouldn’t be down to a 17-year-old or two English students to drive their soccer program; this is what happens when you are not in FIFA. You rely on passionate yet under-qualified volunteers. This film is meant to get FIFA’s attention—we need them to stop ignoring Micronesia’s repeated requests for help. *Please note that the cut submitted has FPO mix, music, graphics and color. All will be complete next month.

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