1998 Micronesian Games The Northern Mariana Islands made their international debut in an exhibition football tournament associated with the
1998 Micronesia Games. The original governing body for football in the Northern Mariana Islands, the
Northern Mariana Islands Soccer Federation had been accepted as an associate member of the
Oceania Football Confederation, but this was the first time records indicated they had participated in any international tournament. Furthermore, the tournament did not meet established regulations; the matches played were only 9-a-side, the games lasted only 80 minutes and the pitch was smaller than regulation size. The team avenged their earlier group stage defeat to Guam in the final, beating them 3–0 to claim the tournament title. This was a three team tournament consisting of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and an international team known as Crushers (or Crusaders according to other sources). At the time it was hoped that the establishment of an official men's competition would provide the means by which players who could meet the citizenship and eligibility criteria to represent the country at future tournaments might become involved. The EAFF then granted full membership in September 2008.
Marianas Cup (2007–2008) Following their acceptance as an associate member of the EAFF, their first participation in EAFF competition was in the
2008 East Asian Football Championship Preliminary Round, a two legged tie against
Guam. The first leg, played in Saipan, resulted in a 3–2 loss for the Northern Mariana Islands
Mark McDonald twice equalized after Guam had taken the lead only for
Zachary Pangelinan to score the winning goal in the 72nd minute. Unfortunately the return leg in
Hagatna a week later produced a much more one-sided result as Guam were victorious 9–0, Pangelinan scoring five times and four other players scoring once Guam took the lead halfway through the first half through
David Manibusan, but
Joe Wang Miller equalized four minutes later and the teams went into half time tied at 1–1. The team prepared for the tournament for several months prior to departing for Guam, although in that time, they were only able to train with new coach
Sugao Kambe for a month. It was acknowledged by their coach prior to their departure that they would be the least experienced of the four teams competing at this stage In July 2009, the AFC Executive Committee agreed to accept the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association (NMIFA) as an associate member of the
Asian Football Confederation, after the association received permission for release from the
Oceania Football Confederation in June 2009, paving the way to join AFC. It was the NMIFA which resigned from the OFC, despite it being the earlier governing body, the Northern Mariana Islands Soccer Federation which had become a member in the first place. As a result, no games were played for the next two years until July 2012 when The Blue Ayuyus entered the
2013 EAFF East Asian Cup First Preliminary Round, hosted again by Guam. New coach
Chikashi Suzuki was conscious of the need to snap the losing run of matches against Guam, had recognized that previous squads had contained a large number of veteran players and called up a number of younger players such as
Lucas Knecht and Bo Barry who were playing college and high school football respectively in the United States. Optimism that the team might finally be able to beat Guam appeared well placed when
Joe Wang Miller opened the scoring for the Northern Mariana Islands, but two fouls from William Dunn allowed Guam to score through a penalty and a free kick before a handball from
Kirk Schuler gifted Guam their third goal confirming a fourth defeat out of five games against Guam. However, this confidence was to be misplaced. Macau took a 2–0 lead at half time, despite resolute defending from the Blue Ayuyus in the first twenty minutes, and although Kirk Schuler was able to halve the deficit in the 51st minute, Macau scored three more goals, including a penalty to eliminate the Northern Mariana Islands at the first hurdle for the third consecutive time. In 2013, the team played their first ever series of matches against opposition from outside the EAFF, taking part in the qualifying rounds for the
2014 AFC Challenge Cup. With the football federation founded only a year prior to the inaugural edition of the AFC Challenge Cup, the team not only had to acclimatize to the elevated environment in which they would be playing, they would also have to face some very strong teams in the shape of
Palestine,
Bangladesh and
Nepal In their second match they fared even worse, losing 9–0 to Palestine, the middle-eastern team scoring four times in the first half and five in the second. Despite already being eliminated following their initial two defeats, the Blue Ayuyus defense performed well in their final game, despite losing 4–0 to Bangladesh, the team managed to keep the scoreline respectable with the result flattering Bangladesh as they scored two very late goals.
First victory 2014 saw a return to
EAFF Cup qualifying for the fourth time, drawn again in a qualifying group containing the weakest four nations in terms of ranking: Guam, Mongolia and Macau. Following an initial 4–0 loss to Mongolia, Following the historic victory, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association held a celebratory dinner in honour of the team's victory. Younger players commented to national media about how proud they were to be a part of the victory, while older players reflected on how their first matches consisted of a team of veteran players trying to achieve a respectable result and that the victory was the result of years of hard work behind the scenes. The team was not able to repeat the comparative successes of the previous qualifying campaign however, losing all three games and being eliminated at the first stage again. the team lost their first match against
Chinese Taipei 8–1, a result made all the more easy for their opponents once striker
Joe Wang Miller was sent off for a second yellow card in added time at the end of the first half. A second loss followed against Macau, 3–1 before the campaign was rounded out with a third loss, 8–0, to Mongolia. The team were not aided in their qualifying campaign by a pre-tournament training camp in the Philippines which saw a large number of the squad taken ill. FIFA Head of Member Association (MA) Governance, Rolf Tanner, announced at the 11th Northern Mariana Islands Football Association Ordinary Congress on 29 October 2021 that the global football governing organization received the islands' application for membership. Northern Mariana Islands would then have competed in their first-ever
AFC Asian Cup qualification playoff round, but the AFC excluded them from the draw.
2023 Pacific Games The Northern Mariana Islands competed in
football at the Pacific Games for the first time in the
2023 edition of the tournament. The team was drawn into Group C along with
Tahiti and
Fiji. These matches would be the first time ever competing against
Pacific island nations that are members of the
Oceania Football Confederation. On 27 November 2023, Northern Mariana Islands records their second victory against FIFA-Affiliated team by winning 4-0 against
American Samoa. The result was also the team's first-ever victory in the Pacific Games. Captain
Jireh Yobech scored the team's first-ever goal in the regional tournament. ==Home stadium==