Beginnings (1979–1993) Although they had not taken part in the first five editions of the
South Pacific Games, their geographical proximity to Fiji, host of
1979 South Pacific Games, allowed them to participate for the first time. They lost both group stage matches to
Wallis and Futuna 3–1 and
Solomon Islands 12–0. Four years later, as hosts of the 1983 edition, they beat
American Samoa 3–1, drew 3–3 with
Tonga and fell again to
Wallis and Futuna, but the results allowed them to advance to the next round. In the quarterfinals,
Tahiti eliminated them by beating them 2–0. Samoa entered qualification for the
1988 Summer Olympics however they were defeated by
New Zealand over two legs, losing 7–0 at home before being defeated 12–0 in
Auckland. In the playoffs for the next round, Samoa lost to
Chinese Taipei 5–0 and were eliminated.
Regional Frustrations (1994–2010) In 1994 they hosted the
first edition of the Polynesia Cup, where they beat
American Samoa, tied with
Tonga and lost to
Tahiti to finish in third position. In 1998 they were third again, coming within a point of the
Cook Islands in second. Samoa returned to finish third again in the
2000 edition by beating
Tonga and
American Samoa, but losing to the
Cook Islands and
Tahiti. After four tournaments absent, they returned in the
2007 South Pacific Games as hosts. They managed six points by beating
Tonga and
American Samoa again, but were eliminated after losing to the
Solomon Islands and
Vanuatu.
OFC Nations Cup (2011–present) In 2011, they hosted the
OFC Nations Cup qualifying tournament. There, they beat the
Cook Islands 3–2, drew 1–1 with
Tonga and defeated
American Samoa 1–0 to qualify for the first time in their history. At the championship proper, they were beaten 10–1 by
Tahiti, 5–0 by
Vanuatu and 9–0 by
New Caledonia. In the
2016 qualifiers, they beat
American Samoa 3–2 and lost 1–0 to the
Cook Islands. In their final game, the Samoan team defeated
Tonga 3-0 and qualified on goal difference, because of American Samoa's 2–0 win over the Cookian team. At the tournament, which took place in
Papua New Guinea, the Samoan team lost 4–0 to
Tahiti, 7–0 to
New Caledonia and 8–0 to the local team. Therefore, they finished in last place in their group without a single point. During
2024 qualifying, Samoa qualified for the final tournament after a 4-1 win over
Tonga, and a 1-0 win against
Cook Islands. Samoa were then eliminated from the
2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup after a 2-0 defeat to
Tahiti, a 9-1 defeat against co-hosts
Fiji, and a 2-1 defeat against
Papua New Guinea; this ensured their elimination as Samoa placed fourth in Group B after conceding thirteen goals without a single point. ==Kit sponsorship==