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NMIFA Fall League lures 46 teams
Saipan Soccer School’s Jersh Angeles watches two participants perform drills during a coaching clinic held last Saturday at the William S. Reyes Elementary School. The clinic aimed to prepare new coaches for the upcoming NMIFA youth league. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
The boys U15 division will start the competition in Northern Mariana Islands Football Association’s premier youth tournament with a pair of games set tomorrow evening. In the first match at 5:30pm, Shirley’s Football Club will take on Kanoa Football Club, while MP United Football Club will collide with long-time rival Paire Football Club at 7:30pm. Both matches were originally scheduled to take place at the Oleai Sports Complex Field, but since the pitch is closed for repairs and maintenance work, venue of the opening games is expected to change and an announcement will be made before the Friday play date.
The two other teams entered in the boys U15 division—Matansa FC and Tan Holdings FC—will make their season debut this Saturday when they duel in an 8am game.
In the girls U15, there are also six squads—Shirley’s FC, Kanoa FC, Paire FC, MP United FC, Matansa FC, and Tan Holdings FC. Matches will be played every Saturday only at the Hopwood Junior High School Field with three matches every weekend. In this Saturday’s opener, Shirley’s FC will face Kanoa FC at 2:30pm on Pitch 1, while over at Pitch 2 at the same time, Paire FC will square off against MP United. In the last game at 4pm, Matansa and Tan Holdings will slug it out.
Hopwood will also be the venue of the other game in the boys U18 division between Matansa FC and Tan Holdings FC. MP United FC and Paire FC are the two other squares competing in the division and they are originally set to duel at 10am this Saturday at the Oleai pitch, but the venue and time may be moved.
In the U12 division, there are 12 teams, which are spread into two groups. Division A has four teams and is considered under competitive level of play where scores will be recorded and a champion will be crowned. The U15 and U18 divisions are also under the competitive league. Kanoa, MP United, Tan Holdings, and Paire make up Division A.
In Division B, MP United and Tinian Premier Football Club have two squads each, while Shirley’s, Paire, Kanoa, and Matansa have one apiece. All U12 matches will be played at the Hopwood pitch.
Games in the two other divisions—co-ed U8 and U10—will take place at the various school pitches on Saipan. In the U8 age group, eight teams are playing with MP United having the most squads with three. Kanoa, Shirley’s Paire, Matansa, and Tan Holdings have one each. In the U10, Paire, Tinian, and MP United are fielding two teams each, while Shirley’s, Kanoa, and Tan Holdings have one apiece. Games in the U10 division will start at 3:15pm, while U8 matches will begin at 2:15pm every Saturday.
