Official Site of MISF

The Marshall Islands Soccer Federation, the governing body of the last country in the world without a football team, were honoured and privileged to be invited to Real Betis Balompié’s Forever Green Gala to highlight the consequences of climate change.

The third edition of the event, held at CaixaForum Sevilla on Saturday, 10th June, united the fields of sport, science, and innovation as part of Los Verdiblancos’ Forever Green environmental sustainability platform.

Forever Green was created five years ago with the aim of involving the world in the fight against climate change, taking advantage of the global projection and the convening power of football as a tool for raising awareness and social transformation.

The Gala, supported by the United Nations and the Junta de Andalucía, brought together six representatives from international environmental projects which presented solutions to climate change – and showcased how sport can bring awareness to the ever-growing threat.

The technical director of the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation, Lloyd Owers, gave a presentation on our ‘No Home Jersey’ project – a football kit campaign that highlights how island nations can and will be affected by climate change.

Realised in conjunction with kit manufacturer PlayerLayer, our 2030 No Home Jersey has been designed as a rallying cry to our global supporters to help keep the Marshall Islands on the map.

Our alternative kit, designed by Uruguayan Matías Otero, features several iconic elements indigenous to the islands – the outrigger canoe, used by the Marshallese people for thousands of years to transport themselves across the ocean; the drel, a traditional Marshallese hand fan; the Plumeria, the islands’ national flower; and the great white shark, which can be found in the world’s largest shark sanctuary in the Marshall Islands. The 1.5 emblazoned on the chest represents the global temperature commitment world leaders agreed to at the 2021 COP Paris Agreement. If this number is exceeded then the Marshall Islands are in danger of facing irreversible changes to their environment due to climate change as early as the year 2030.

Rocio Ruiz-Berdejo Yñiguez, project manager for Forever Green and marketing director at Real Betis, said: “We were reading Panenka Magazine and we saw an article about the No Home Jersey campaign. “We were very impressed and we wanted to use our platform to tell others about the campaign, which is very related to Forever Green – our sustainability project. “We decided to invite them to the Gala to tell others what they are doing and it was a success – and such a great inspiration for all of us.”

The Marshall Islands Soccer Federation hopes to work with Real Betis and the Forever Green initiative in the future. Matt Webb, Commercial Director of MISF wants to use this as a springboard for more club partnerships: “We are incredibly proud that Forever Green and Real Betis have taken notice of our campaign. Being able to work with organisations who take sustainability seriously is a pleasure, and we hope we can collaborate in the future. Our project is a symbol of what can be achieved when the sporting world comes together.”

For more information on Los Verdiblancos’ Forever Green project, please visit
https://forevergreen.es/en/.

Meanwhile, preparations continue towards our first-ever 11-a-side international matches, against full FIFA members the US Virgin Islands and the Turks & Caicos Islands, in August.

Although we reached the Kickstarter pledge amount to travel and compete in the 2025 Outrigger Challenge Cup, the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation are still looking for parties interested in sponsoring the event.

We have a range of opportunities from live streaming partners, shirt sponsorship, and player and match sponsors.

Interested parties should email head of commercial, Matt Webb at
marshallislandssf@gmail.com.