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Ozark United under-19s will bring a 21-man squad to play in the 2025 Outrigger Challenge Cup. OZFC’s under-19s, who are based in and represent Northwest Arkansas, will play two games at the tournament, which has been organised by the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation and will be held in Springdale, Arkansas between Wednesday, 13th August and Saturday, 16th August.

The young guns will play two established FIFA members at the 2025 Outrigger Challenge Cup. The under-19s kick-off their campaign against the Turks & Caicos Islands on 14th August (5pm CST) before concluding against the US Virgin Islands on 16th August (4pm CST).

OZFC’s under-19s are led by head coach Dean Johnson. Johnson, a former Tottenham Hotspur academy player, is also part of the Marshall Islands national team’s coaching set-up. He was named as one of three assistant coaches to national team manager and technical director Lloyd Owers on 9th July. All of OZFC’s under-19s are either current high school students, or graduated in spring 2025.

Eleven of Ozark’s 21-man squad for the 2025 Outrigger Challenge Cup earned starts during the inaugural season for the Ozark United under-20s team that competed in the 2024-25 United Premier Soccer League, including Damian Trejo who served as the spring season captain for OZFC U20s.

The youngsters will compete in the under-19 age group of MLS NEXT in 2025-26, a youth football league for teams in the United States and Canada that is managed, organised, and controlled by Major League Soccer. The under-19s form part of the youth academy pathway for upcoming professional football team Ozark United, who will be based in Rogers, Arkansas.

Founded in 2023, OZFC plans to have a men’s team compete in the USL Championship, the second tier of the United States league system, by the 2027 season.

The squad
Goalkeepers: Angel Calix, Wesley Gebhart, Nico Moreno
Defenders: Malachi Cowan, Ethan Dalferes, Isaiah Fonseca, Mateo Guzman-Barron
Brandon Lawson, Tino Le, Giovanni Puga
Midfielders: Mateo Gomez-Soto, Alan Mendoza, Bennett Nautsvik, Mason Saffell, Giovanni Salazar, Chriss Salinas, Damian Trejo
Forwards: Alex Breton, Dydder Flores, Wyatt Marksberry, Mitch Stone

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.

All 2025 Outrigger Challenge Cup matches will be live-streamed, with more details to follow shortly. For those wishing to watch in-person, we will also be making arrangements and sharing details in the coming weeks.

The full fixture list for the 2025 Outrigger Challenge Cup is as follows:

● Wednesday, 13th August – US Virgin Islands v Turks & Caicos Islands – 7pm kick-off

● Thursday, 14th August – Turks & Caicos Islands v Ozark United under-19s – 5pm

● Thursday, 14th August – Marshall Islands v US Virgin Islands – 8pm

● Saturday, 16th August – Marshall Islands v Turks & Caicos Islands – 1pm

● Saturday, 16th August – US Virgin Islands v Ozark United under-19s – 4pm

All games to be played at Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium, Springdale
All kick-off times Central Standard Time