Proud Guam strive for fresh highs

   

Next Wednesday Guam will take the field in the EAFF East Asian Cup against continental power Korea Republic having already achieved success by reaching the second stage of qualifiers. It might be a modest measurement of success for some, but it is a noteworthy step given Guam is a nation of only 500 square kilometres and a population which numbers less than 200,000.

The ambitious Guam FA has made giant strides in recent years and the remote nation in the north Pacific Ocean plan to continue punching above their weight. Earlier this year the men’s team - known affectionately as Matao - achieved a new high on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, and now their female counterparts are also building for success.

The women’s team, the Masakada, cruised through the preliminary stages of the EAFF East Asian Cup with hefty wins over Northern Mariana Islands and Macau. Now Korea Republic, Hong Kong and hosts Chinese Taipei await in the final qualifiers for next August’s tournament proper in China PR. The team are coached by the highly experienced Sang Hoonkim, a former Korea Republic international and assistant coach at K League giants Ulsan Hyundai.

American connection 

Guam is administered as a US overseas territory, and its little surprise that many of the national squad are based Stateside, mostly for educational purposes. “Many kids leave Guam, and not all of them come back, so they build a home in the US,” Guam FA Technical Director and men’s national team coach Gary White told FIFA.com. “We need to develop players but also find those players that are eligible for us.

“Some elite players have moved to the US and with the schooling system being exactly the same, it is an easy transition on the mainland. They study and train with their school in a professional environment.”

A huge Guamanian population exists on the US west coast in places such as San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. “I think the (Guamanian) population overseas would be bigger than actually in Guam,” says White.

White describes Guam as a “cultural melting pot” with the population comprised of numerous ethnic groups headed by the indigenous Chamorro population as well people of Filipino, Pacific Islander and East Asian background. “It is a nice mix and a friendly place so it works well,” says White. “There is an American structure here, but the Chamorro culture has not been lost in anyway which is a really nice thing.”

Putting building blocks in place 

Much has happened in a few short years in the nation’s football development. White takes up the story. “Through Richard Lai our President, and the Board, there has been a real push for professionalism,” he says. “We wouldn’t have any of this success without his drive and that of the GFA executive committee. We laid out a ten-year plan when I arrived, and we are really starting to hit some of those targets. None of this was by default, but rather by design. It is all going to plan for us. It will be tough for us in Chinese Taipei, but that is part of the growing process.

“Up until two years there was no elite development programme, for boys or for girls and therefore there was no connection between the national programme and clubs. We have set up an accelerated training programme, where they come to us three days a week. We couldn’t do it without FIFA because the national training centre – where there is training fields, classrooms, an eating area – that is all there because of the FIFA Goal Programme.

Last year the nation’s U-16 female national team created a milestone achievement by becoming the first Guam side to win through to an AFC tournament. “We are starting to see the products of this system matriculate into the youth national teams,” White said. “The great thing is that many of the young players are far more advanced than the current senior players were at the same age.”