By Jonathan V. Perez
Variety News Staff

VOLUNTEER coaches in the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association-organized Women’s Football League will begin the boot camp for all who registered for the upcoming season on Saturday at the American Memorial Park.
The boot camp is especially for all female participants who want to learn the sport but the NMIFA is not limiting the session to rookies, as players who participated the past two seasonsare welcome to join.
The boot camp will run from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The sessions will follow the same schedule for the next three Saturdays in January and February. The registration will happen simultaneously with the boot camp.
The final day of the boot camp and registration will be Feb. 17 where the coaches will do the team drawing under the supervision of an NMIFA board member.
The players need not be present during the drawing and this will be the final roster for the season.
The team practices will begin on Feb. 21. The practice sessions will be held every Wednesday and Saturday until the league opens on March 10.
This will be the first time the NMIFA will be having a Spring season. They usually open the league in Fall.
Last year, the Fiesta Resort & Spa Femme Fatales became the champions in the second season of the Women’s Football League beating the Marianas Eye Institute Eyeballers in the Sunday finals at the Oleai Sports Complex, 4-2.
Games in the WFL are played with two 25-minute halves with a five-minute break. During the semis and championship games, a five-minute “golden goal” overtime rule is followed in case of a tie. If a tie remains after the overtime, a five-person shootout takes place.
The NMIFA has also scheduled its second series of clinics for would-be referees in preparation for the upcoming season of the youth and women’s leagues and the ongoing matches in the men’s league. The clinic will held run from Jan. 5 to 7 at Fiesta Resort & Spa.
The men’s league will resume its games on Jan. 7 with a team composed of Thai nationals joining the seven other squads for the inaugural season.
The Thai team, sponsored by Onwell, will go up against L&S/Kyung Seung in the match scheduled at 12 noon.
The Pacific Telecom Inc. Guardians will play in the second game battling Alliance in the 1:30 p.m. contest.
The Real Mariana-Fiesta Inter will clash in the 3 p.m. match followed by the Korean One-Independents game.