Coyne Airways, air cargo specialists to ‘difficult to reach places’, is taking on its biggest challenge so far in sponsoring the Pohnpei football team. Pohnpei is the largest of a group of islands making up the state of Micronesia in the Pacific. The Pohnpei team represents the nation as they now take the first steps towards Micronesia being recognised on the world football map.

Having never won a competitive match and calling themselves ‘the biggest underdogs in world football’, the Pohnpei team has come to the attention of the international media after being tagged ‘the world’s worst football team’ following a 16-1 defeat to Guam.

The team, largely consisting of part-timers from the local construction industry, is now coached by two British nationals, Matthew Conrad and Paul Watson. They have been desperately seeking corporate sponsorship to help fund an official three game tour of Guam between October 1-8, including a final game against the FIFA recognised Guam national team.

To begin to be taken seriously by the football authorities, Pohnpei need to play regular international matches against FIFA-registered countries, a costly logistical challenge given the state’s geographic location. Just three hours away, Guam is the closest suitable opposition and now, thanks to financial support from Coyne Airways, is going back to take on Guam once again, hoping their compelling story will attract further  corporate sponsors to fund more international matches.

Pohnpei has a five-year plan to achieve FIFA recognition, beginning with joining the East Asian Football Association. This would provide grants to improve facilities and could ultimately produce funding of US$300,000 a year, rising to $1 million. The national team currently receives just $5,000 a year from the Federated States of Micronesia Olympic Committee.

Larry Coyne, CEO of Coyne Airways, said: “As one of the pioneers of reliable air cargo services into the Caspian region and, more recently, the first neutral operator into Iraq and Afghanistan, we know a thing or two about overcoming the odds. We are sponsoring the Pohnpei team for three very good reasons:

These are inspiring young men. We have been really motivated by the story of the Pohnpei national team and particularly by the enormous commitment of their players and coaches in achieving their aim.

The Health Issue. It’s more than football, these men are inspiring a nation to confront and deal with terrible health issues which are prevalent on the island. Currently 90% of Pohnpei citizens are obese due to poor diet and 30% suffer from diabetes. The team and coaches are an example of the benefits of exercise and good diet. Already there is evidence that more of the population is taking up various forms of exercise.

The ‘Catch 22’ situation. Whereas many tiny nations are already the beneficiaries of huge funding by FIFA, until Micronesia can prove they are capable of beating international opposition they will continue to receive nothing. With virtually no funds for coaching, facilities or travel this would seem an impossible task. We hope that our funding support will help  them on their way to being taken seriously as a football nation.

 By funding their tour of Guam, we hope to give new impetus to their ambition to one day play regularly on the world stage. We say ‘play up Pohnpei’ and hope to get our customers involved too in following the team on what promises to be quite a journey.”

Since the arrival of their British coaches, the team has responded by regularly turning up for 5am training sessions, often during the state’s notorious heavy rainfalls. Developing their fitness and skills is expected to have far wider implications in inspiring the national population of 36,000 people.

Coach Matthew Conrad said: “The Pohnpei government and health officials are desperately trying to promote physical conditioning and a healthy diet and we hope football, as an aerobic sport, will promote a nationwide healthy living campaign. News of Coyne Airways’ generous sponsorship has provided a fantastic boost to everyone’s morale. The local Olympic committee has shown a lot more support since hearing about the Guam trip and is even helping us with grant applications for the US and Australia to secure the future of football in the state. They have even donated two lawnmowers to spruce up the playing pitch we use for training! No Micronesian team has ever won an international fixture but our goal is to change that, starting in Guam!”

Coyne Airways, which will have its brand proudly emblazoned on the Pohnpei national team’s football shirts, will be publishing regular updates on the team and its progress on its website at www.coyneair.com