Pitch to Pro

Stoppage Time Special: Kicking Off a Legacy in Springdale

• Ozark United FC

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This Stoppage Time release features a powerful excerpt from our earlier conversation with Woody Watson. In this segment, we spotlight the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Soccer Tournament — an event that made history by hosting the first-ever Marshallese national team matches at Springdale High School.

You’ll hear how what began as a grassroots effort has grown into a community-driven movement, building long-term partnerships and laying the groundwork for sustainable development through sport. Organizers share their vision of positioning the annual Outrigger Cup alongside the excitement of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, bringing international soccer closer to fans in Northwest Arkansas.

At the heart of this story are moving accounts from Marshallese players receiving their first national team call-ups, and the community pride that follows. Beyond the matches, the initiative includes youth clinics, coaching development, and collaboration with the Islander Youth Athletic Outreach Program — all designed to open doors for the next generation.

Want to learn more or get involved? Visit rmi.soccer for schedules, streaming details, and ways to support this historic moment.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Stoppage Time edition of the Pitch to Pro podcast. This is a highlight reel of some of the best moments from the show so far, and every other week we will be bringing you a special five to seven minute segment featuring the best stories, tales and moments of the podcast. So talk a little bit about.

Speaker 2:

You know how does this tournament, how's it going to impact? You know NWA, other than you know what we just talked about, which was, you know, obviously, the impact for Springdale. Uh, men's and women's high school soccer.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, sure, um, so we're. We're hoping that you know all. What is it? 500,000 plus show up to these games probably won't happen, but it would be really cool. Um, what it means long term for our organization. Uh, we will still have our annual women's camp. Uh, that's going to be, you know, the next thing that we plan out. I think the last two years it's been in february or so, so that's what we'll start getting on to next.

Speaker 3:

Um, if we want to talk about, uh, what we're doing with the kids, we have coaching clinics that are going on right now and making sure that the people that are local, that want to be involved in coaching soccer are able to. So we've got some training initiatives going on there. And again, that feeds right back in to working with some of the kids. And especially, we've worked with Joe Mardale Pena. He's part of the Islander Youth Athletic Outreach Program that's based out of Springdale and it works with all the different kids that are Marshallese and other from all the island nations. So we've got that that's going to be ongoing as well. We're going to have training for the kids to work together. You know, grow up together playing the great game, and then it feeds in to. What we're going to have is the third annual Outrigger Cup. There's this little startup tournament that's coming to the United States next year. It's called the FIFA World Cup and it's actually going to be a startup.

Speaker 3:

So we're planning to have our Outrigger Cup moved up a couple months compared to where it is this year and we hope to really gather some of that energy that people are feeling towards the World Cup. They're going to be feeding for soccer and ready for it to happen. There's a lot of people that aren't going to be able to go to the games. It's a lottery just to get tickets. Tickets are expensive, you have to travel and a lot of these things just aren't available to a lot of people, and so what we want to do is make this international football accessible to everybody that's in the region as well that may not be able to go up to Kansas City, to Dallas, to St Louis, wherever they're having the games. It just isn't possible sometimes. So two weeks give or take before the World Cup, we're actually going to be doing the same thing next year and on and on, but we're really excited for the opportunity of what this year sets up in the future. This isn't just a kind of one and done where we're really kind of positioning ourselves with different organizations.

Speaker 3:

In Northwest Arkansas I've experienced Fayetteville, like Swar Springdale, slim's Chickens, ones that have helped us out already in a few different in northwest Arkansas get experience, pay a bill like swore spring to else limbs chickens, ones that have helped us out already in a few different ways, and We've started these partnerships that aren't just hey, can you help out this year? What can we do for catering? Are you able to help us out with marketing or merchandise? These are conversations that we have about two, three, five years in the future. They really see it as a big investment into the area as well, and we're really excited that it's not just a one and done.

Speaker 3:

As happy and tired as we are right now about about this year, uh, it's, you know, going to be a week off maybe, and then we start planning for the next one, yeah, um, and that's just kind of how it rolls. And so we really want to make sure that soccer is brought to this area, um, and everybody has access to it at any stage, not just people that are playing record recreationally, not just people that want, people that want to go and see a semi-professional and professional match that's coming soon too but keep international soccer coming to Northwest Arkansas because it just brings so much more attention to the area, to everything that's got going on here and all those other extracurriculars that happen that not everybody gets to know about, because we've got a good little corner in the state here that we hope that everybody can experience as well.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, absolutely, and I think that's so well put and I just love to watch you guys continue to grow and build what you're doing and you know. Again, I just want to say I commend you guys for you know, leaning in and being a part of the journey and just helping. This is this, is the I always tell people. You know that, why do you like your job and all of that and it's you know the pro team when it gets here, Great That'll be. You know, I'm so excited for you know what that'll mean and going to the stadium and uh, to to matches and to be able to do that and support it.

Speaker 2:

But what I love most is is how soccer just brings people together. Um, and it's the universal handshake is, uh, dropping a ball at at our feet and just saying, you know it's a nice anything so simple too, exactly, and so it's. It's just, um, doing good through soccer and helping bring people together and build a community. So, and there's no better example of that that I can think of right now than than what you guys are doing with the Marshall Island soccer. So, um, any, any last words for folks in NWA and coming out again, I think it's the dates just remind people, and then also can they watch it if they can't make it out for whatever reason. And just where should people go for more info? That kind of thing.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so we're about two weeks out now. First match is going to be on Wednesday the 13th, taking place Again all of these matches at Springdale High School. We're going to have the first Marshallese game on Thursday, august 14th. We're going to have a doubleheader that day, as well as a doubleheader again on Saturday where all four teams are going to be playing Ozark United, united teams included. If you're interested and have a kid in the area that wants to go to a free clinic, we have a group that is going to be starting on the Friday night between those games at Sonora middle school More details to come about.

Speaker 3:

That is going to be for fifth through eighth graders, divided into two different sessions. Yes, we do have links for people that are not local or people that you know can't make it out to the game. We'll be able to drop that link to make sure that that's attached to this. It will be streaming. Again. We have really good partners at Speedio that are providing cameras, helping us with software and getting all that set up Really great people that have put in a lot to this project as well. That's great.

Speaker 2:

So remind folks on where they can go for more info. You guys have a website. You can get to social media.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it's a really simple website, rmisoccer, and you can go on there find any of the information. There's a lot of different media that's being added each day. We've just recently announced our squad list. We have people that got their letters. For the first time, we have video of them opening up saying just what it means to be selected for the first team for the first match. It's just incredible, for the first match. It's just incredible. So, if you can go there, you can find GoFundMe that we still have. We're taking donations of all time, all kinds. We are a charitable organization. If anybody wants to get in touch about working together next year as well. Like I said, this is an annual project. It's not going away. It's really big to the area and, the most important thing, thank you for supporting the game, thank you for supporting Northwest Arkansas, thank you for supporting the Marshall East community as we go into a really, really historical moment thank you for joining us for this stoppage time special of the Pitch to Pro podcast.

Speaker 1:

If you've enjoyed the conversation, you can click watch the full episode here. Be sure to tune in next Thursday for a new episode of the P. Sure to tune in next Thursday for a new episode of the Pitch to Pro podcast, the official podcast of Ozark United FC, available on YouTube, instagram and everywhere you get your podcasts.