4 AFC events await CNMI youth teams

Members of CNMI Girls U14 National Team do warm-up drills before playing in an Asian Football Confederation event in Beijing, China last year. (Contributed Photo)

First on the list is the AFC Boys U14 Festival scheduled for April 17 to 30 in Beijing, China. Then the following month, it will be the turn of the CNMI Girls U14 National Team to compete also in Beijing, which will host the AFC U14 Regional Tournament from May 19 to 24. The last two AFC events for the Commonwealth bets are scheduled in the latter part of the year. The AFC Boys U16 Qualifier is set for Sept. 12 to 20, while the AFC Boys U19 Qualifier is slated for Oct. 2 to 10. Venues for both qualifiers have yet to be announced.

The four AFC competitions are the highlights of another busy season for Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, as it lines up three more off-island events besides its regular leagues and tournaments for youth, men’s and women’s players, grassroots programs, and referee and coaches clinics/seminars.

The association has been invited to the Hong Kong Football Association Invitational in April and HKFA Cup in June, while the other off-island event may take place in Guam (Marianas Cup for boys U13 and girls U13), but details of the latter tournament have yet to be finalized.

For its local competitions, NMIFA will kick off the 2015 NMIFA Youth Spring League next month. The co-ed U12, boys and girls U15, and boys U18 teams of the various football clubs on the island will play the competitive league from Feb. 6 to April 11, while U6, U8, and U10 squads will join the non-competitive games. The M-League will also open its spring season next month, while the 2015 NMIFA Interscholastic Football League for U12 players from both public and private schools in the CNMI will be held later this year (late October to early December).

The association will also coordinate with various schools for its National Elite Academy’s program. NEA will select players from chosen schools and they will train for a certain period of time and compete in Choco Milk Cup, which will be held twice this year—May 30 and Dec. 5.

As for coaches, NMIFA has lined up three courses. The NMIFA D-License course is set for Jan. 17 to 18 and 24 to 25, the E-License is scheduled for May 9, and the AFC C-License is slated from Nov. 30 to Dec. 13.

Meanwhile, NMIFA will host three Japanese teams next month. First up is the Japan Soccer College, which is schedule to visit Saipan and play a couple of games from Feb. 3 to 6. Campion College Team is next on the line with its Feb. 17 visit, while the returning Ehime University will be here from Feb. 21 to March 1.