SPRINGDALE — With the largest population of Marshall Islanders outside the Marshall Islands, it only made sense that Arkansas would be the site of the island nation’s first 11-per-side international soccer tournament.
Plans are in the works to host the Marshall Islands’ first tournament — or “fixtures” — Aug. 11-17 at Springdale High School’s Bulldog Stadium. It’s being called the Outrigger Challenge Cup.
Teams from the U.S. Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos are expected to participate, said Matt Webb, commercial director for the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation. He said Guam was invited but declined because of budgetary constraints. Webb said another team is being considered as a replacement for Guam.
Webb said the Republic of the Marshall Islands is the only United Nations member nation without an official national soccer team.
“All other members have played some kind of representative/international fixture,” he said.
The Springdale tournament would be the first 11-per-side fixture for the Marshall Islands team. The Outrigger Challenge Cup was first held last year, but it was a futsal tournament, played indoors with five on each side. That tournament was held in the Marshall Islands and included Kiribati and the Federated States of Micronesia.
“We hope that by successfully hosting this tournament we can progress with our ultimate objective of becoming FIFA member nations,” said Webb, referring to soccer’s international governing body, Federation Internationale de Football Association. “However this is just one step of many to demonstrate our readiness to be accepted to a regional confederation, such as Oceania Football Confederation.”
A Kickstarter fundraiser had reached its goal of $26,000 by May 5 and had $28,800 when it ended on Sunday, but Webb said donations from corporate sponsors are needed to fund the full tournament.
He said the visiting teams must pay the cost to travel to Springdale. The host team pays lodging and catering costs for the visiting teams, as well as all the costs for the tournament, such as officials, facilities and tournament transportation.
“We are welcoming of any players with Marshallese descent,” Webb said in an email. “Our team will comprise of those who born and live in (Republic of the Marshall Islands), plus some who were born in RMI but have moved to the US, and those who have always lived in the US. To qualify, only Marshallese grandparent(s) are needed.
“This is a team we want all Marshallese to be proud to watch — if any part of them is Marshallese — this is the team for them!”
Matt John, 24, of Springdale, is expected to be on the Marshall Islands national team, perhaps the only Arkansan on that team.
He moved from Oregon to Springdale when he was 12 and now works at the Marshallese Educational Initiative in Springdale.
John said moving to Springdale was “kind of surreal because I grew up the only Marshallese kid in my community.”
“It was a good experience because it was kind of like a self-identity journey,” he said. “You’ve got to figure out who you are.”
John said he felt a cultural bond with other Marshallese in Springdale, but no Marshallese kids in Springdale played soccer.
“It was kind of rocky at first because I grew up more around Hispanic culture because my step-dad was Hispanic,” said John. “Which is obviously why I play soccer. I’ve been playing soccer since I was 4.”
Soccer hasn’t historically been popular in the Marshall Islands, which has focused more on sports popular in the U.S., like basketball.
“I decided to stop playing when I moved here because all the Marshallese kids weren’t playing soccer,” said John. “But I decided to take it back up because I do have a love for the game.”
And Marshallese kids would, too, he said.
“If you get on the pitch (field), score your first goal, you’ll fall in love with the game,” said John. “I feel like Marshallese kids have the athleticism. They’re just playing the wrong sports. They’re playing basketball. We’ve got no shot. We’re like 5-foot 8 at the max. Nobody’s going to the NBA.”
John said he’s never played soccer with another Marshallese player on his team, so he’s looking forward to the tournament in August.
He said Springdale is the perfect place for the Outrigger Challenge Cup.
“It’s like the second Marshall Islands,” he said. “There’s no better place to have it.”
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Arkansas had the largest proportion of the Marshallese alone or in any combination population in the country in the 2020 census. That was a change from 2010 when the largest share was in Hawaii.
From 2010 to 2020, the share of the Marshallese population living in Hawaii dropped from 33.0% to 18.8%, while the share living in Arkansas increased from 19.3% to 23.1%, according to the website.
More than 12,000 people of Marshallese descent live in Springdale, according to the Marshallese Educational Initiative.
They come to Northwest Arkansas because of a Compact of Free Association and many Marshallese find work in the poultry industry.
