Association football in American Samoa

The sport of football in American Samoa is governed by the Football Federation American Samoa (FFAS), the nations football association.[1][2] It was founded in 1984, and affiliated to FIFA and to the OFC in 1998. It organizes the ASFA Soccer League (the national domestic football tournament) and the national team.[3]

International football

American Samoa is one of the weakest teams in the world, due to both its small population base and the overwhelming popularity of American football, basketball and baseball in the islands.[4][5] In fact, it holds the distinction of suffering the largest loss in international football history, having been defeated by Australia 31–0 on April 11, 2001.[6] American Samoa has never won a FIFA-sanctioned match. The team has only recorded one victory in its history over Wallis and Futuna Islands in 1983 (3-0), when both teams were not yet members of FIFA (Wallis and Futuna Islands still is not).[7] As of December 2010 according to the FIFA World Rankings, American Samoa are ranked 203rd, or joint last, in the world of FIFA-sanctioned, international football.[8]

In November 2011, American Samoa defeated Tonga 2–1 in the first round of OFC World Cup Qualification to record their first official international victory after 30 consecutive defeats.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Rob Bagchi. "Amazing transformation of American Samoa from whipping boys to winners | Football | The Observer". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  2. ↑ "American Samoa's dream team with Thomas Rongen - Brent Latham - US Soccer - ESPN". Espn.go.com. 2011-12-08. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  3. ↑ "For American Samoa, a Win Ignites a World Cup Dream". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  4. ↑ Goff, Steven (2011-10-13). "Thomas Rongen to oversee American Samoa in 2014 World Cup qualifying tournament - Soccer Insider". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
  5. ↑ "Samoa, a Football Hotbed, Gets Help". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  6. ↑ Rookwood, Dan (April 11, 2001). "Aussie Rules as Socceroos smash world record again". The Guardian. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  7. ↑ Lee, Ben (December 6, 2013). "American Samoa football team celebrate first win in 18 years". Digital Spy. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  8. ↑ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Ranking Table". FIFA. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  9. ↑ Williams, Aidan The Uplifting Story of American Samoa's Footballing Redemption These Football Times. August 31, 2015
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