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🇹🇴 Will Tonga's American Dream make them a serious football nation in the Pacific?

🇹🇴 Will Tonga's American Dream make them a serious football nation in the Pacific?

Tu’Ulalupe are embarking on a Californian tour in 2025 to unearth new players!

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Graham Ruthven
Jan 09, 2025
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The Soccer Dispatch
The Soccer Dispatch
🇹🇴 Will Tonga's American Dream make them a serious football nation in the Pacific?
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There are only 210 teams included in the FIFA rankings and Tonga are 199th.

Tu’Ulalupe are the weakest team in the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), widely considered the weakest confederation in world football. Unsurprisingly, they have never played at a World Cup.

They have never even qualified for the OFC Nations Cup (the OFC’s Euro-equivalent).


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Yet the tiny Pacific country of just over 100,000 people - and 171 different islands - has plans to become a serious football nation in the region.

It’s a plan that will include a Californian tour in 2025 as the country seeks to extend its search for new talent. Will Tonga realise their American dream?

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