Over a dozen of boys and girls, age eight and six formed in three teams spent the remaining 30 minutes of their training session at the Oleai Sports Complex’ field yesterday dribbling the ball and defending the goals made up of road warning cones.
They are among the 49 young participants of the Summer Football Clinic that NMIFA has been conducting for children six years old and under, eight years and under, and 10 years and under.
According to CNMI football national team head coach, Sugao Kambe, they are the “grass root” of their continuously growing program not only for the men and women teams but most especially for the promising members of the young generation.
After being able to take another step into the East Asian Football Federation membership by successfully bringing up a national team of boys 18 years and under, NMIFA, the CNMI sports family’s front liner for football achievement has found itself facing a challenge of raising more football players.
That is why, Kambe said they are now organizing a football league for U13 (13 years old and under). To date, he said seven teams of boys are ready to compete in the next few weeks. The teams include three teams under MP United, Matansa, Tan Holdings, Independent Football Club and Paire.
Hopefully in the next two to three years, these U13 boys will be the next U18 national team for AFC, Kambe said.
And since they are still groping for more U18 players, he said they continue the program by combining them with U14 players for boys and girls.
With the NMIFA Youth League Spring Season held annually, the football organization maintains the breeding ground of future football players.
Right now, Kambe said there are six teams in the U6, eight teams in U8 and U10.
And in addition to that, the group also holds interscholastic tournaments for U12 and U14 not only to scout more talents for international competition but also to provide fun, safe and healthy game for the children in the community.
The increasing number of individuals who are coming in will surely make NMI football leagues more exciting and more competitive which is actually the ideal climate in bringing up national teams.
The CNMI’s national men’s team that already gave the islands a place in the map of international football originally consists of a few teams when it was formed last year.
Now, there are seven men’s teams currently competing in the invitational league which now gives NMIFA a wide range of selection for next international competition.
The women’s league held last month also showed a growing number of football players. The Paire, MP United, Matansa and Independent FC are NMI’s beehive of talents for the national women’s team.
