The 2023 Micronesian Futsal Cup, commonly referred to as Micro Cup 2023, was the inaugural edition of the Micronesian Futsal Cup, the international futsal championship organised by Federated States of Micronesia Football Association for the men's national teams of Micronesia. It was the first competition of any kind for the FSM islands for five years (since the three islands participated in the 2018 Micronesian Games) and its first futsal event.[1][2]
| FSM Futsal Cup 2023 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country |  Pohnpei |
| City | Kolonia |
| Dates | 8–15 July |
| Teams | 4 |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Yap (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Kosrae |
| Third place | Pohnpei |
| Fourth place |  Chuuk |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 10 |
| Goals scored | 133 (13.3 per match) |
| Best player(s) | Maphrick Ruweday |
| Best young player | Yobi Laurdine |
| Best goalkeeper | Nick Santiago |
Yap emerged as the champions of the tournament by defeating Kosrae in the final with a score of 9 to 7. Kosrae, making their debut in a futsal or football competition, secured the second position.[3]
Format
editThe tournament follows a two-stage structure consisting of a group and a knockout stage.
- Group stage: all participating teams compete against each other once, determining their rankings and seedings for the subsequent knockout stage.
- knockout stage: the winners from the group stage are paired against the fourth-ranked team, while the second-ranked team faces off against the third-ranked team. The Winners of each semi-final match will then proceed to the final.
Participating nations
editOn 14 February 2023, the Four states of Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap) were confirmed as participants with invitations being sent to other nations in the region. However, they did not appear on the final list of participants.
| Team | App | Last | Best placement in the tournament |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chuuk |
1st |
— | debut |
| Kosrae |
1st |
— | debut |
| Pohnpei |
1st |
— | debut |
| Yap |
1st |
— | debut |
Squads
edit
|
|
|
|
Group Stage
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kosrae
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 14 | +7 | 6 | Semi-final 1 |
| 2 | Yap
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 16 | +3 | 6 | Semi-final 2 |
| 3 | Pohnpei (H)
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 19 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Chuuk
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 25 | −9 | 3 | Semi-final 1 |
Knockout stage
edit| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 12 July- Pohnpei Public Gymnasium | ||||||
| Kosrae | 9 | |||||
| 14 July - Pohnpei Public Gymnasium | ||||||
| Chuuk | 2 | |||||
| Kosrae | 7 | |||||
| 12 July- Pohnpei Public Gymnasium | ||||||
| Yap | 9 | |||||
| Yap | 10 | |||||
| Pohnpei | 5 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 14 July - Pohnpei Public Gymnasium | ||||||
| Chuuk | 5 | |||||
| Pohnpei | 12 | |||||
Semi-finals
editThird place Match
editFinal
editGoalscorers
edit- this only include Yap's Goalscorers published by the Yap Football Association.
There were 38 goals scored in 5 matches, for an average of 7.6 goals per match.
22 goals
8 goals
5 goals
3 goals
Marketing
editBranding
editThe official emblem was designed by Canadian Noah Wheelock and unveiled in April 2023. it features the lorikeet to represent the host Pohnpei. the bird was surrounded by a blue circle and several blue stars to show the unity of the Federated States of Micronesia.
Sponsorship
edit
HA7 Classical Shirts
References
edit- ^ "Micro Cup the first step on the road to reviving FSM's ill fated national soccer team". abc.net.au. Tahlea Aualiitia. 20 April 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ "Inside tiny islands clinging to World Cup dreams despite FIFA not recognising them". mirror.co.uk. Tom Victor. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
- ^ Jaynes, Bill. "Yap team takes first place at historic first ever FSM National Futsal Championship". The Kaselehlie Press. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ @RealFSMFootball (June 29, 2023). "Pohnpei — Call ups" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @RealFSMFootball (July 3, 2023). "Yap — Call ups" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @RealFSMFootball (July 5, 2023). "Chuuk — Call ups" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @RealFSMFootball (July 4, 2023). "Kosrae — Call ups" (Tweet) – via Twitter.