| Football in Tuvalu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | Tuvalu |
| Governing body | Tuvalu Islands Football Association |
| National team | Tuvalu |
| Clubs | 8 |
Association football is the most popular sport inTuvalu.Football in Tuvalu is governed by theTuvalu National Football Association (TNFA). The TNFA became an associate member association of theOceania Football Confederation (OFC) on 15 November 2006 with a further reinstatement on 16 March 2020. The TNFA has been wanting to become a full member of the OFC and a member ofFIFA since 1987.[1]
The earliest records of football in Tuvalu date back to the1979 South Pacific Games where Tuvalu competed. They defeatedTonga, but lost their other two matches. This qualified them for a play-off againstKiribati, which they would win on penalties before losing toGuam national football team. A league was active by 1980, withNauti FC being founded in that year, and it would continue until 1991 when renovations prevented access to the airstrip for training or theTuvalu Sports Ground for matches. It would reform in 1998 and has so far lasted to the current day. The women's league would form in 2009, though this would prove to be more sporadic and there is less evidence for it. In the modern era the men's league typically includes clubs from all the main islands, with A and B divisions, along with 2nd teams from the larger clubs. The women's league, in contrast, is much smaller, with only a handful of clubs participating. Typically the leagues are formatted as a group stage, either a single group of up to 8 teams or 2 separate groups of up to 4 teams. Then teams qualify for a semi-final and a final to determine the champions for that year.
Additionally, with league seasons being short, there are multiple competitions per year. In the modern era a typical year contains the league, the NBT Cup and at least one of a handful of other competitions such as: theTuvalu Games (from 2008 to 2017),[2] the Independence Cup (where teams compete under their island's name), the Christmas Cup and more. The ministry of education, youth and sports have also organised tournaments and a men's C-Division was formed in the 2022 NBT Cup for veteran's football. Otherwise the same clubs compete, though results can vary a little more.[3][4] These tournaments are typically organised for both genders, though sometimes there have been insufficient teams for a women's division.
In international sport, they wouldn't return until the2003 South Pacific Games, where a narrow 3–2 victory overKiribati would prove to be their only victory from 4 matches. Otherwise they would lose 1–0 toVanuatu and 4–0 to each theSolomon Islands andFiji.
History was made in 2007 when Tuvalu became the first non FIFA member to participate in an official World Cup qualifying match.[5] The situation arose when the regional governing body used the2007 South Pacific Games, as the first stage of thequalification tournament for the2010 FIFA World Cup and qualification tournament for the2008 OFC Nations Cup. Tuvalu performed with great credit, earning a remarkable 1–1 draw withTahiti in which Viliamu Sekifu became as the first World cup scorer for his country. The other three fixtures in the tournament ended in defeat and Tuvalu failed to progress from their five team group.
In September 2008, Tuvaluan Prime MinisterApisai Ielemia and the President of the Tuvalu Football Association,Tapugao Falefou, visited the headquarters of FIFA inZurich, hoping to gain full membership in the organisation.[1] However the lack of football facilities in Tuvalu is a major obstacle for membership of FIFA. Tuvalu only has one stadium, and it does not have training grounds or hotels for visiting teams and supporters.[6][7][8]
In recent years, the TNFA have received support from theNetherlands.[9] In 2011Foppe de Haan was thefootball coach ofTuvalu for the2011 Pacific Games.[10] They would perform well, but would not return for the 2015 edition. On 1 May 2012 Stevan de Geijter was appointed as the head of Youth Development at the TNFA.[11] TheTuvalu national football team and the activities of the Dutch Support Tuvalu Foundation are the focus ofMission Tuvalu (Missie Tuvalu) (2013) a feature documentary directed by Jeroen van den Kroonenberg, in which the route for Tuvalu's FIFA membership is shown.
Football continues to strengthen on the islands to this day, with regular league action and international action including victories at the2017 Pacific Mini Games, overseas action at the2018 CONIFA World Football Cup and a further draw against fullFIFA memberAmerican Samoa at the2019 Pacific Games.
TheTuvalu national football team debuted in 1979 and has appeared sporadically since. Exclusion from theOceania Football Confederation andFIFA has meant that iopportunities to play are limited and therefore they have mainly played in thePacific Games to date. they have played in 2003, 2007, 2011, 2017 and 2019 to date. Results against sides from the preliminary round of the OFC's World Cup qualifiers have generally been competitive, showcasing the possible talent of the islands, though as with such sides, results against the more established nations have mainly been comfortable defeats.
In August 2012 they participated for the first time on a tournament. They participated at theNBT Cup for B-teams.[12] The first game they won againstHa’apai United B with 3–0. But they lost the second game with 6–0 againstTMTI and the third game they lost with 5–0 againstLofeagai Boys.Malesi of Lofeagai scored 5 goals.
Afutsal national team have also competed, participating at the2008 Oceanian Futsal Championship,2010 Oceanian Futsal Championship and2011 Oceanian Futsal Championship, though they would lose every game, often coming up against significantly more experienced opposition. No women's national side has yet participated in any international match.
The number of participating clubs varies by tournament, with the larger islands often sending second or even third teams to compete. These typically play in the B-Division, though 2nd squads have played in the A-Division previously. Some clubs have only competed in the women's division. The main club isNauti FC, who regularly win titles and compete across all divisions.
| Stadium | Capacity | City |
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| Tuvalu Sports Ground | 1,500 | Funafuti |
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