Stoppage Time Special: How a Jersey Told the Marshall Islands’ Story

Our latest Stoppage Time episode reveals the extraordinary efforts of a volunteer team spanning three continents who are determined to ensure the Marshall Islands' place in football history.

The urgency is palpable as Woody Watson explains why this initiative matters: "A nation that possibly might not exist in some capacity in 10 years is able to get their first matches played, is able to have something out there that says, yes, we got this done in time." These islands, barely feet above sea level, represent ground zero for climate change impacts.

We dive into the story behind the award-winning "No Home Kit" – a brilliant white uniform with portions that appear to have dissolved away, symbolizing the gradual erosion of the Marshall Islands' landmass. This powerful visual metaphor recently earned international recognition in Spain, bringing critical exposure to the Marshall Islands' plight and generating donations for sustainability efforts.

Perhaps most remarkable is that this entire initiative runs on passion alone. A team of 20-25 dedicated volunteers across multiple time zones has created something truly impactful without any compensation. From broadcasting specialists donating camera equipment to coaches with international experience, these individuals overcome significant logistical challenges to work together toward a common goal.

What starts as a sports development story transforms into something much more profound, a testament to human resilience, global collaboration, and the power of football to shine a light on our planet's most urgent crises. Listen now to discover how the beautiful game is becoming a lifeline for a nation on the brink of disappearing.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Stoppage Time edition of the
Pitch to Pro podcast.
This is a highlight reel ofsome of the best moments from
the show so far, and every otherweek we will be bringing you a
special five to seven minutesegment featuring the best
stories, tales and moments ofthe podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
A lot of these atolls and islands out in the South
Pacific.
They're not more than a fewfeet above sea level at their
highest point.
So a big reason that we'rereally really accelerating this
program is to make sure that anation that possibly might not
exist in some capacity in 10years is able to get their first

(00:41):
ratchet's plate, is able tohave something out there that
says, yes, we got this startedtime.
Um, and that goes twofoldbecause this brings so much
exposure to what is going on aswell.
Um, there's donations that flyin, uh, all the time to make
sure that, you know, we'regiving back and making sure that
the sustainability andespecially, um, the awareness
that people have around theworld that this is happening,

(01:03):
these are, you know, realscenarios, real situations.
So those are, those are reallythe high level things.
We can get into any one ofthose if we want to, but that's
what we're working on right now,outside of some of the smaller
events we have.

Speaker 3 (01:17):
No, that's great.
I want to keep going on thesustainability piece.
Talk a little bit about the nohome kit and what you guys did
there.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
um, talk a little bit about the no home kit and, uh,
what you guys did there, and youguys actually talked about the
awards you just won and and uh,you know, yeah, way out there in
spain, hopefully we can get aplug-in to uh or a link to the
actual no home kit, uh and showpeople about what it is.
But essentially it's uh kits,um, are white secondary uniform
that has some pieces that havedissolved off of it, showing

(01:46):
that slowly the nation,metaphorically, is being eroded.
And that goes right along withwhat I was just mentioning
before this initiative and theprogram and what everybody on
the team in the UK did aboutthis.
It was actually giving an award.
Lloyd Overs actually got to flyout to Spain and collect this

(02:07):
award and I've got a nice littlepicture of him holding a plant
on the stage.
I keep that saved on my phone.
I really hope that he hearsthis.
But yeah, I keep that on myphone because I thought it was
hilarious.
But yeah, the initiative won anaward and each time that that
happens, that's not just one ofus spreading a link or talking

(02:27):
about this or doing a podcast,but these were actual things
that people at an internationallevel were recognizing for a lot
of the work that had gone in.
That's not just face level,that's the level down deeper
that.
Hey, what does this really mean?
We see what you're doing, butwhat is is the back-end effects
that this is going to have, andso, especially if people are
recognizing the awards that aregiven out, sure, that's

(02:50):
something that comes of it, butthe exposure, again, is the
number one thing we're goingafter.

Speaker 3 (02:56):
All of which are just , I think, incredible.
Remind everybody, you guys areall volunteers at this point
right.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
We are Myself and Matt Webb joked about that
Different story about one of thepeople that we'll interact with
next week.
But, yes, we are all volunteers.
This is a completely grassrootsprogram.
All volunteers, this is acompletely grassroots program.
Everything that we have done sofar comes from the effort that

(03:27):
each of the people on our teamhas done, completely outside of
any payroll or work or anything.
This is just something we'repassionate about.
I didn't know that I would bethis involved when I first
signed on.
I thought it was going to be.
You know, hey, I can help outand give some connections while
you're in the area, maybe set upa few meetings, um right, but
but it really turned into thingsthat we can be proud of, that

(03:49):
are physical, tangible, um uh,pieces there that we had to work
on and show our our actualresults for and I don't like to
think of it in that way,essentially but we've got a
group of probably 20, 25 peoplethat are behind the scenes
working on all this.
Probably half of them arecoming in for the event that

(04:11):
we're going to have in the nextcouple of weeks, but we've got
people that are doing that, arereferees, that are broadcasting
and have donated camera suppliesstraight out to speedio for
that.
Um, people that have a lot ofanalytical background, know
football really well, that havestudied the game for years,
people that are haveinternational experience with
coaching uh, myself I I don'treally have, you know, uh,

(04:33):
professional soccer experience,but you know, I've known the
area for a little while now andI can help set up, uh some some
things to throw a good soccerevent, and I know what people
would like and and so we allhave really worked really well
as a team, even though I thinkit's 12 hours difference out to
the South Pacific and then it'ssix hours time difference the

(04:53):
other way over to the UK.
So we're kind of all working ondifferent schedules, but but
the chat between us all is isvery consistent on what we have
to work together for.
So I'm saying that this is ateam effort more than anything,
because we could have not doneit with one, two, three, five

(05:15):
tech people.
It's taken a lot over the lasttwo years.

Speaker 3 (05:18):
No, I mean, these things are hard, all these
projects, whether they'renational teams or local clubs,
like it's.
It's hard and takes dedicationand I just applaud you guys and
the entire team and anybodywho's pitching in to you know,
lean in and be a part of thejourney.
That's good.
So you know, kudos and hats offto you guys.

Speaker 1 (05:53):
Thank.
So you know, kudos and hats offto you guys.