As of now, the NMIFA seeks to compete in the Asian Football Confederation’s men and women’s 16-and-under championships.
Strikers in the boys 13U division are the current targets for the 16U Men’s Championship, set for 2014. According to NMIFA general secretary Edward Salas, the CNMI’s national team must first pass a qualifier in October, 2013 before advancing to the finals.
Current women’s 14U players may look to the AFC’s 16U Women’s Championship, slated for 2013. A qualifier is scheduled for October, 2012.
Rosters for either team have yet to be determined, and players will be chosen by national team head coach Kiyoshi Sekiguchi some time in February or March next year.
Among the NMIFA’s biggest accomplishments this year was during the 2011 East Asian Football Federation 15U Youth Tournament in Taiwan when the CNMI defeated Macau, 2-1 last July.
The NMIFA is also focusing on its men and women’s national teams which have EAFF-sanctioned competitions and the Marianas Cup in 2012 and 2013.
The Marianas Cup, which failed to make its appearance this year, is tentatively scheduled for Guam next year.
Venues for the EAFF tournaments are also yet to be determined, with the men’s qualifiers set for July, 2012 and women’s qualifiers set for November, 2012.
With a handful of competitions coming up, the NMIFA hopes to waste no time in developing its future national team players.
In place of Sekiguchi’s absence for October, November, and December this year, coaches from the Hong Kong-based Chelsea Football Club Soccer School are currently helping in weekly training camps for the 13U boys, 14U girls, and men and women’s national teams.
“The coaches from the Chelsea FC Soccer School are at the invitation and coordination of the Saipan Soccer School. They are also assisting NMIFA in further enhancing its soccer developmental program by conducting clinics at the elementary schools,” said Salas.
Prospective players seeking to join the NMIFA’s soccer camps may call the NMIFA at 235-0173 or Edward Salas at 285-9658 or [email protected].
‘A vision’
Within a two-year window, the NMIFA also hopes to become a full member of both the AFC and Fédération Internationale de Football Association, also known as FIFA.
“Right now we are only an ‘associate’ member of the AFC and we lack voting rights,” Salas told Variety.
The NMIFA became an associate member in June, 2010 during the AFC Extraordinary Congress that coincided with the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
“We have a vision to become a full member of the AFC and ultimately, a full member of FIFA. Among the benefits of joining FIFA are its goal projects and its Financial Assistance Program,” said Salas.
