Left photo shows Eleven Tiger FC’s Sunjoon Tenorio with the ball possession during their game against Tan Holdings FC in the Marianas Soccer League 1. Right photo shows Wing FC’s Yaw Boateng facing an Islander defender in their match in the Budweiser Soccer League Premier Division. Eleven Tiger and Wings FC will collide in the Marianas Club Championship this Saturday at the NMI Soccer Training Center.
THE Northern Mariana Islands Football Association and the Guam Football Association, with the support of the East Asian Football Federation, are holding the Marianas Club Championship 2023 this Saturday, featuring the champion teams of their respective men’s league.
Game time is at 6 p.m. at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville with the Marianas Soccer League 1 champion Eleven Tiger Football Club taking on the visiting Wings Football Club, which ruled GFA’s Budweiser Soccer League Premier Division.
Eleven Tiger reigned supreme in both the spring and fall 2023 seasons of the MSL 1. In the spring season finale, Eleven Tiger nosed out MP United, 2-1, behind the pair of goals from former NMI national team player Sunjoon Tenorio. In the fall season, Eleven Tiger triumphed anew when it topped the double round-robin competition with an 8-2-0 win-draw-loss record.
Eleven Tiger FC will challenge Wings FC, which had an outstanding debut in the Budweiser Soccer League Premier Division by winning the championship in its first season in the division. Wings FC finished its season debut with a 10-0-2 win-draw-loss record, beating Strykers FC (9-0-3) for the coveted league championship.
Wings FC will be arriving on Saipan this Saturday morning for the evening match against Eleven Tiger. Wings will have a 16-player roster made up of Budweiser Soccer League Premier Division Golden Glove awardee Jacob Toves and Gold Boot award contenders Ivan Tcheugoue and Yaw Boateng. Completing the visiting squad are players Beau Perez, Caleb Sablan, Donovan Moss, Justin Li, Kai Pahl, Levi Buckwalter, Luciano Jameson, Nathan Nuwer, Nicholas Moore, Nicolas Yokota, Raito Atsuta, Shuntaro Suzuki, and Juan-Carlos Mungaray, head coach James Okuhama and assistant coach Duane Pahl.
Tenorio will lead Eleven Tiger and will be joined on the team by Tanapon Unsa, Anthony Bergancia, Jamin Elliot, RJ Narvaez, Jonne Navarro, Saixian Bagsic, Jerald Aquino, Dane Hodges, Brandon Tenorio, Seho Baek, John Diego Masga, David Mafnas, Taka Borja, Anthony Austria, and Akira Kadokura. Head coach is Bada Lee, while assisting him is Brandon Onopwy.
The Marianas Club Championship is made possible by the support of the EAFF with the aim of assisting in the promotion and development of the soccer program in the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam.
