Boost to CNMI’s grassroots soccer program

Northern Mariana Islands Football Association’s Ruselle Zapanta and Mikky Vargas attended a conference in Malaysia early this month and came back with lots of ideas that would further boosts the CNMI’s grassroots program.

They took part in the 2nd Asian Football Confederation Grassroots Football Conference 2018 held from Nov. 13 to 15 in Kuala Lumpur. Zapanta and Vargas met with their counterparts from the 41 other AFC-member nations and learned from experts and resource speakers that included AFC technical director Andy Roxburgh, AFC Grassroots manager Masahiro Sugiyama, and grassroots football specialist Timo Huttunen of Finland.

“It was a great experience being able to attend such a conference. This being my first time since I was filling in for our technical director (Michiteru Mita) and youth committee representative (NMIFA vice president Vickie Izuka), I was looking forward to see if there are new ideas to improve our grassroots program. It was an insightful event, trying to turn other member association’s ideas into something that NMIFA could hopefully implement in the near future,” Zapanta said.

“Being sent to this event meant that we needed to learn and gather as much information as we can to bring back and grow our grassroots program. AFC’s definition of grassroots entails all amateur and recreational players in all ages. What that meant to me is that the NMIFA is only going to get busier,” he added.

Zapanta and Vargas also attended the grassroots festival at the AFC House where they watched a 4v4 soccer format and the “tribute to unsung heroes” awards presentation.

“It was also nice to see and meet other representatives of AFC member-nations who have similar duties in their home country. At the dinner table, we met John Whittle, who actually had been to Saipan and conducted a coaching course, 10 years ago,” the NMIFA executive director said.

As for Vargas, she said that being new to AFC and coming from a small island, it was very helpful to learn from representatives of big countries that have thrived against all odds.

“The conference was catered to the technical side of grassroots development. We discussed several things, but I believe the highlight of the conference stemmed from the constant interaction between the different MAs (member associations). A big chunk of the conference had us discussed the different challenges we faced in terms of grassroots development and what worked or what didn’t work when trying to solve the problem,” Vargas said.

“Being a small MA, there was nothing much to do for us there but learn, which is the greatest thing ever. Being able to hear the different approaches developed MAs would take to tackle a problem that is very much relevant to us will only further our growth and that’s what we’re looking to do—grow the program,” she added.