NORTHERN Mariana Islands Football Association Executive Director Ruselle Zapanta has been appointed as a match commissioner for the Asian Football Confederation U20 Women’s Asian Cup 2024 Qualifiers, Group E, in Buriram, Thailand.
Zapanta said the AFC checks the availability of match commissioners or MCs ahead of time.
“Being selected to represent the AFC and the NMI as a MC is truly an honor, but involves a lot of responsibility as we are tasked to make sure the competition rolls out as smoothly as possible,” he added. “Also, this opportunity goes to show that despite our islands’ size and short soccer history, there are other ways our people can shine and represent the NMI on the Asian and/or global soccer scene outside of playing and coaching.”
As a soccer fan, player and coach, Zapanta is “definitely…looking forward to witnessing exciting and competitive soccer matches between the teams in my group. But aside from the matches, I also look forward to learning from the experience and networking with counterparts I meet so that I can bring what I’ve learned back to the NMI and continue to help develop our programs.”
He added, “NMI soccer continues to grow so we at NMIFA need to keep up with global trends and do our best for our soccer community.”
Ruselle Zapanta
