Nauru has tried to develop football previously, but it has never really taken off. The closest it has come to playing an international match was when representative teams faced a Solomon Islands expatriate team in 1994 and a refugee side in 2014. Its complicated past explains why the world's most popular sport has struggled for participation.

Located in the Pacific Ocean 2,500 miles north east of Australia, Nauru's wealth was built on phosphate deposits. After mining dried up, the island, once named Pleasant Island, is now ragged, with large parts of its central areas uninhabitable. Most of the 12,000-strong population clusters around the coast with usable space at a premium on an island that measures only 21 square kilometres.

Sport has been a strong release for many, but the sport of choice is Aussie rules, which 30% of locals play. Athletics and weightlifting are also popular, and Nauru has competed in these at the Olympics. The island will host the Micronesian Games in 2028, which includes football.

Volunteers have launched a campaign to give every child aged four to 14 a ball – roughly 2,000 children – and are working with churches and the island's 11 schools to deliver them. The technical director, Pomroy, says they want people to see a more positive image. Past one-off fixtures, such as a planned game led by former Premier League striker Dave Kitson, never happened for financial reasons, but the ethos has since changed and Nauru Soccer is looking longer term.