The CNMI is fielding a better-prepared team in the Asian Football Confederation 2014 Challenge Cup Qualifiers.

“We have a more prepared team in the AFC tournament compared to the squad that competed in the EAFF tournament in Guam last year. We've been training since September, so we're a lot fitter and stronger,” said Northern Mariana Islands Football Association technical director Johann Noetzel, who is also the starting goalkeeper for the CNMI Men's National Team that will be playing in the qualifier in Nepal next month.'

“In the first month of our training, we practiced only twice a week and then it went to five times a week. Then in the last few months, we practice for six times a week. Every member worked hard during the training sessions and did their best in finding time to practice after their work to show commitment on the team,” Noetzel added in an interview with Saipan Tribune last Thursday during a send-off party for the team.

Joining Noetzel on the CNMI Men's National Team are captains Joe Miller and Trey Dunn, Jehn Joyner, Jireh Yobech, Timothy Tawanpiy, Sean Perez, Ruselle and Raphael Zapanta, Jake Tiger Lee, Steve McKagan, Peter Loken, Dan Westphal, Lucas Knecht, Bo Barry, Yuki Adachi, Nick Swaim, Dae Won Jeon, Chris Nelson, and fellow goalie Evan Hunsberger.

This week the U8 Red/Black and U12 Red venues have changed.
- U8 Red is at Navy Hill vs MPU-2 (3:15 pm)
- U8 Black is at Dan Dan Elem Sch vs Kanoa FC-2 (3:15 pm)
- U12 Red is at Hopwood JHS vs MPU-1 (1:00 pm).

Here is a link to NMIFA's new spreadsheet.

as reported in the Saipan TribunePlayers from Japan Soccer College will be give the CNMI Men's National Team its last scrimmage at home before competing in Nepal, as they collide tonight at 7pm at the Oleai Sports Complex Field.

The visiting team arrived early this morning and will be fielding 30 players, who are 19 to 25 years old, in the scrimmage. Also joining the squad are two coaches and seven trainers.

“These players are enrolled in a two-year program at Japan Soccer College. They will start their season in April and they been training indoors, as it's been snowing in Japan, so they wanted to get out and play in an outdoor pitch to get themselves ready,” said Futsal Point's Kaz Kaneko, who coordinated the group's trip to Saipan.

“We also found out that the CNMI Team is competing in AFC, so somehow the timing is good and we wanted to help them by playing a friendly game. I know it will be hard for your national team to keep traveling to play other squads, so we will try to bring as many teams here as often as possible,” Kaneko added.

After their game against the Nationals, the visitors will also face a selection from the M-League tomorrow, also at the Oleai pitch.

Meanwhile, joining Kaneko and the players on their Saipan visit is Futsal Point chair Kenji Sakaguchi. Futsal Point is a private company in Japan that is involved on the building and management of futsal and beach soccer facilities and Sakaguchi met with Northern Mariana Islands Football Association to express his company's desire to help NMIFA improve or built facilities.

“Better facilities help produce better players,” Sakaguchi said.

Kaneko, who also works for Futsal Point, added having adequate facility will also encourage more players to try the sport.

Meanwhile, Sakaguchi, who played for the Japan U19 National Team in 1992 and suited up for the Urawa Reds in the prestigious J League from 1993 to 2000, wished the CNMI Team good luck, as it compete in the AFC for the first time.

“I hope CNMI players will gain a lot of experience that will help them in the future, as they compete in more AFC events,” Sakaguchi said.

As reported in the Saipan Tribune: Well-wishers led by no less than newly sworn in Lt. Gov. Jude U. Hofschneider joined the Nepal-bound CNMI Men's National Team in a send-off dinner held last night at the Seaside Hall of the Kanoa Resort.

“We are so proud of you. I know you will be good ambassadors of the CNMI. For those of us who will not be able to join you in Nepal, we will be cheering for you back home and we wish you all the best,” said Hofschneider, who led the ceremonial turnover of the CNMI flag to the team.

Also present at the send-off dinner were Northern Mariana Islands Football Association officials, members, and officers of various local clubs, representatives of sponsors IT&E and Marianas Health Services, and other supporters.

“We would like to commend our players for showing tremendous commitment and hard work since they started training in September. We may be the newest team competing in Nepal, but I know our players will give every opponent a tough game,” NMIFA president Jerry Tan said.

“Our NMI men's delegation will write a new chapter in the history of NMIFA by competing in our first AFC tournament. Entering competition at this level was only a dream when NMIFA was founded in 2005. We've come a long way since then. Our national players and coaches have logged in countless hours of training and are ready to take the challenge. I'd like to wish all them all the very best as we stand proud and watch with excitement and in anticipation from Saipan,” NMIFA vice president Vickie Izuka added.

The Blue Ayuyus will be leaving Saipan early tomorrow morning to compete in the Asian Football Confederation 2014 Challenge Cup that will be held in Kathmandu from March 2 to 6. From Saipan, they will go to Manila for a connecting flight and a scrimmage on Saturday evening against the Meralco Sparks, who will be bannered by seven Philippine National Team members. The CNMI strikers will then leave Manila on Sunday for another connecting flight to China before arriving in Nepal in the evening.

In Kathmandu, the Blue Ayuyus will play the host first on March 2 at 5:30pm (around 10pm Saipan time) at the Dashrath Stadium. The CNMI's second game will be against Palestine on March 4 at 2:30pm and the last will be versus Bangladesh, also at 2:30pm on March 6.

The CNMI, Nepal, Palestine, and Bangladesh comprise Group D of the qualifier. Four other groups will have their separate competitions next month and the winner of each group and the two second best-placed teams in the qualifiers will get entries to the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup, which will be held from March 8 to 23, 2014 in Maldives. The champion of the Challenge Cup will then qualify for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup where the zone's top-ranked Japan, North and South Korea, and Australia have already gained tickets.

With the CNMI competing in the AFC men's event for the first time, NMIFA executive committee member Joseph Villagomez said the tournament is a good chance to show the Commonwealth's brand of football.

“It's a welcome opportunity to our players. We will be able to introduce CNMI football to the rest of the region. We will be able to show them that we have a lot of talented and promising players and we can compete in their level,” Villagomez said.

The CNMI Team is composed of 20 players, who will be joined by eight officials. Leading the squad are captains Joe Miller and Trey Dunn. Other members of the team are Jehn Joyner, Jireh Yobech, Timothy Tawanpiy, Sean Perez, Ruselle and Raphael Zapanta, Jake Tiger Lee, Steve McKagan, Peter Loken, Dan Westphal, Lucas Knecht, Bo Barry, Yuki Adachi, Nick Swaim, Dae Won Jeon, Chris Nelson, and goalies Evan Hunsberger. and Johann Noetzel. Former Olympian and Hong Kong football star will coach the squad and will be assisted Chi Ming Tang and Ho Man Chen. Wesley M. Bogdan, Norman del Rosario, and Pamela Carhill are also part of the delegation.

“We are aiming to bring good results from Nepal,” said Noetzel, a former pro in the MLS and English Premier League and will be playing for the CNMI for the first time.

http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?newsID=125504&cat=2

As seen in the Saipan Tribune yesterday:  

The Northern Mariana Islands Football Association Men's National Team will be leaving early Saturday morning to compete in the Asian Football Confederation 2014 Challenge Cup in Kathmandu, Nepal. 

The Men's National Team, dubbed the Blue Ayuyus, will play three preliminary round qualifying games against Nepal, Palestine, and Bangladesh. The three games will be held from March 2 to 6. The first match versus Nepal will be played on March 2 at the Dashrath Stadium, Kathmandu. The Men's National Team will be coached by Malaysian football legend Koo Luam Khen, a veteran of Malaysia's 1972 Olympic campaign and former head coach of Hong Kong. The Men's National Team is made up of 20 CNMI residents who are also United States citizens. 

The Challenge Cup is an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member nations that are categorized as “emerging” countries. The Northern Marianas Islands Football Association is currently an associate member of AFC and is one of the youngest football associations in the world. Competing in tournaments such as the Challenge Cup is one of the requirements the NMIFA must fulfill in order to become a full member of AFC.

The AFC Challenge Cup was specifically created for lesser-developed football nations to gain experience playing in international competitions. The three qualifying games in Nepal will be the NMIFA Men's National Team's first in an AFC-sanctioned international competition. Should they do well enough to qualify for the next round of competition, they will advance to the finals of the Challenge Cup will be held in the Maldives Islands in 2014. North Korea is the defending champion, but is not eligible to compete since it is now classified as a “fully developed” football nation.

The 20 CNMI players include Joe Miller, Jehn Joyner, Jireh Yobech, Tim Tawanpiy, Sean Perez, Ruselle Zapanta, Raphael Zapanta, Jake Tiger Lee, Steve McKagan, Peter Loken, Dan Westphal, Trey Dunn, Lucas Knecht, Bo Barry, Yuki Adachi, Nick Swaim, Dae Won Jeon, Chris Nelson, Evan Hunsberger, and Johann Noetzel. The official delegation includes NMIFA president Jerry Tan, head coach Luam Khen Koo, assistant coach Chi Ming Tang, assistant coach Ho Man Chen, Wesley M. Bogdan, Norman del Rosario, and Pamela Carhill. The Men's National Team is supported in part by local companies such as IT&E and Marianas Health Services. (NMIFA)

The newly formed Kanoa Football Club, which uses William S Reyes Elementary as their home pitch, had such a good turnout that they are now able to field two U8 teams and two U12 teams.  The NMIFA youth committee has revised the youth schedules for U8 and U12 to accommodate the new teams.  Please check this website to confirm your game's location.

Paire U15 boys played two games this past Saturday.  The first game was in the morning against Shirley's FC.  Paire came out on top 4-0.

Later in the afternoon, Paire battled the U14 boys National Team (which pitted Paire U15 against at least one of their own players - Allen Hinson, who is on the National Team - and against other Paire U12 players on the National Team).  The National Team did well against the Paire U15 boys, scoring 2 goals - one by Paire U12er Logan Mister), but it wasn't enough against the older, more experienced Paire team which ended the game with 4 goals. Coach John would like to thank Coach Jersh for the opportunity to play against the National Team, and reminds the U15 boys that practice is on Tuesday and Wednesday at Saipan Southern High School at 5:00 pm.

The Paire U18 Boys had a BYE this weekend.

The U15 Paire boys won their first game of the season (and Paire Football Club's first game of the season) against Matansa.  The score was 5 to 3.  Gideon Borja scored the first goal of the game about two minutes into the game.  Joel Fruit followed a few minutes later with another goal.  Ivan Seo had the next two goals.  One of Ivan's goals was scored when he was standing in front of Matansa's goal and the ball ricocheted off his leg into the net.  The last goal was scored in the second half on a direct free kick from 25 yards out by Joel Fruit.  Joel's kick sailed over Matansa's wall, over the keeper's head and into the upper left corner of Matansa's net.  Congratulations Paire U15 boys!

Article in today's Saipan Tribune... http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?newsID=125116&cat=2 

Northern Mariana Islands Football Association will kick off the 2013 season with the staging of the 2013 NMIFA Spring Youth League this weekend at various pitches on Saipan.

The spring league will feature competitions in six age groups-the co-ed U6, U8, U10, and U12, and the girls and boys U15, and boys U18. NMIFA's five regular clubs-MP United FC, Shirley's FC, Tan Holdings FC, Matansa FC, and Paire FC-and a new group will be fielding teams in the spring league.

The U6 age group has six teams and the respective squads drills will take place at Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School, San Antonio, Dandan, Oleai, and Navy Hill. Eight teams will compete in the U8 division and they will play seven games each also at the above-mentioned school pitches. The U10 age group also has eight teams, while nine will participate in the U12 league.

For the competitive boys U15 league, five squads will battle for bragging rights, including defending spring champion MP United FC. Joining MPU on the list are Matansa, Paire, Shirley's, and Tan Holdings. 

Matansa and Paire will kick off the action in the boys U15 with their afternoon match this Friday at the Oleai Sports Complex Field. Then this Saturday, Shirley's will challenge MP United at 9am, also at the Oleai pitch. Tan Holdings drew a bye in Round 1 of the double round-robin league and will start their spring season campaign next Friday against MP United.

In the girls U15, matches will be played at the Hopwood Junior High School Field. Matansa and Paire will open the hostilities in the girls U15 league as they collide at 2:30pm this Satruday, while Shirley's and MP United will play in the second match at 4pm. Tan Holdings also got a bye in Week 1 of the girls U15 and will play its first game of the season next Saturday against MP United at 2:30pm.

For the boys U18, games will be played both at the Hopwood and Oleai pitches. Tan Holdings will take on Paire this Saturday at 11am at the Oleai pitch, while MP United will have its first game next Saturday against Tan Holdings at Hopwood, also at 11am.

Clinic set for Sunday

Meanwhile, a goalkeeper and field player clinic will be held this Sunday at the Oleai pitch.

NMIFA technical director and CNMI National Team goalie Johann Noetzel will team up with Japan Football Association's Akira Yamanaka and another Japanese coach in conducting the clinic from 10am to 12am.

The clinic is only for registered NMIFA players in the U12 division. Pre-registration is requested by Friday at 12pm at the NMIFA office, located at the third floor of the TSL Plaza.

For more information, send email to rlazaro@nmifa.com or call 235-0173.

The youth league schedule for Spring 2013 has been released.  We have posted the schedule for Paire teams on www.PaireFootballClub.org website under the "Weekly Game Schedules" tab. Or you can download a copy of NMIFA's complete youth league schedule here.  The first week of games has been posted to the Google calendar.  We'll try to have the rest of the games posted to the Google Calendar in a few days.  The first youth league games are Friday Feb 8th - the U15 boys play Matansa at 4:30 pm at the Oleai Sports Complex.  The other Paire teams play of Sat Feb 9th.