Soccer pitch in Kobler OK’d

From left, DPL Planning Division director Patricia Rasa, DPL Secretary Marianne Teregeyo, NMIFA Executive Committee member Wes Bogdan, NMIFA general secretary Ross Zapanta, and DCCA Secretary Robert Hunter gather for a photo at the DPL office last Friday after the government agency officially announced the designation of a lot in Koblerville where a soccer pitch will be built. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The CNMI inched closer to its goal of having a topnotch soccer field after the Department of Public Lands officially designated a lot in Koblerville as the site of the proposed facility.

DPL Secretary Marianne Teregeyo, in a brief ceremony at the agency’s office in Dandan last Friday, turned over documents containing the agreement for designation of use of public domain lands to the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs. DCCA, in return, is expected to hand the designated land to Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, which will spearhead the construction of the soccer field.

“It’s official. We now have documents filed in court and DPL has agreed to designate lands to NMIFA through DCCA. We believe this project is for a worthy cause,” Teregeyo said.

The designated land (at the Koblerville Fire Station) has an area of 40,000 square meters and according to NMIFA Executive Committee member Wes Bogdan, the association is planning to build an artificial turf similar to what other Asian Football Confederation-member countries have at the location. The facility will also house the NMIFA headquarters, sufficient parking lots, a stadium, and club offices.

“Our youth and the rest of the members of the community will have more sports activities once this facility is built. The more activities we have, the better for the community,” Bogdan said.

“On behalf of our president Jerry Tan, NMIFA would like to thank DPL and DCCA for helping us move forward with this project,” NMIFA general secretary Ross Zapanta said.

Zapanta and Bogdan joined DCCA Secretary Robert Hunter in the turnover ceremony at the DPL office.

“We at DCCA would love to see more activities in our villages and having this facility in Koblerville will ensure that our community will be engaged in sports and other activities in the area,” Hunter said. “We are really grad to be part of this project.”

A project design is in the works for the proposed facility and last month during NMIFA’s 8th Ordinary Congress, the governing body of CNMI football presented to its member federations and Puushottam Kattel—an International Relations Officer under AFC’s Member Association and International Relations Department—a preview of the soccer field.

Also last month, Gov. Ralph Torres, during a turnover ceremony for the CNMI girls U16 and boys U14 teams going to China for the AFC tournaments, announced that a ground-breaking ceremony for the planned facility may take place in October.

Once construction of the facility is done, CNMI players will be able to play and train in a world-class turf. The facility can also be used for hosting regional and international games and off-island teams training for competitions, bringing additional visitors to the island.