If you are remotely interested in distant football teams then get the atlas out and head way south of Japan (1600 miles or so) to the island of Guam, an American territory deep into the Pacific. Guam is ranked 174th in the FIFA rankings and has a population of 165,000. Recently they have beaten India, a nation of many millions, not all of whom play football of course but a country where the game is growing in importance.
The Guam national coach, Gary White, is an ex Bognor Regis player, who has found himself organising a bunch of mixed race footballers in this latest World Cup qualifiers. He led his team to their first ever win against Turkmenistan last week and most recently a 2-1 victory over India. This puts Guam in good shape for the next phase of World Cup qualification.
White has been coaching in the British Virgin Islands and Bahamas on a scheme designed by the FA to put more English coaches in the Premier League. If this sounds a bit far fetched then, why not have a look at Paul Watson's book "Up Pohnpei" an account of his excursion into Micronesia where he and a colleague took on the task of coaching the local "national" team? Guam gets a mention in the book and it is a very good read.
Paul's latest venture is to the city of Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, where he is introducing football and having to spend much of the time indoors playing Futsal because the weather is too harsh for outdoor practice.
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