Football in Nauru

Since 2018 I have weirdly been involved in football in Nauru, or rather soccer to put it more correctly. At the start at least this was something that moved very slowly, but is now moving extremely quickly.

So, what is the story with football in Nauru?

Non-FIFA

So, there are 6 countries that are members of the United Nations that are not part of “global football”, one of these is the Vatican City, another is Monaco, who have a team in the French top division .

This leaves four namely Palau, Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Nauru. Some might also argue that Tuvalu and Kiribati should be on this, but as associate members of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) they have at least some recognition.

Nauru though are the only “real” never played one though having never even competed in a friendly match – something I am to change.

Football in Nauru

Back in 2018 a titular Nauru Soccer Association was founded, but it largely did not go anywhere. In 2019 we began discussions and even met with the body, but Covid-19 put paid to us getting anywhere.

In 2023 I came back to Nauru, got to sample some street food, as well as meet up with Kay Cain, the chairman of the organization. It was then decide not only that I would join the board, but that we would rebrand as the Nauru Soccer Federation.

This has not only since been achieved, but now we are ready to take the next steps.

Next Steps for soccer in Nauru

Setting up a federation is one thing, getting stuff done is another. Therefore our short term goals are to set up a training cap whereby we would send out coaches to forma a national team, as well as getting futsal equipment sent out to the country.

Alongside this we will also start selling the football shirts, as well as hopefully filing a documentary with our partners at Pioneer Media.

So, while it might be early days, we are very hopeful that football in Nauru might become a thing.