After competing in the 1987 South Pacific Games and the 1994 Polynesia Cup, ASFA became full members of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) allowing them to compete in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the first time. American Samoa registered their first FIFA-recognised international during the 1998 Polynesia Cup in Rarotonga, Cook Islands when they lost 3–0 to Tonga on September 2.