Mita honors NMI soccer pillars

In this undated file photo, Northern Mariana Islands Football Association technical director Michiteru Mita gets ready to facilitate a national team training session at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville. (Contributed Photo)

To see the NMI become an ordinary member of the Asian Football Confederation under his watch is definitely an honor, but Northern Mariana Islands Football Association technical director Michiteru Mita was quick to credit their recent success to the people that built the foundation of the sport in the Commonwealth.

Mita was alluding to NMI’s previous coaches, officials, and technical staff that started from scratch when NMIFA was established in 2005. Fifteen years later, the seeds that NMI soccer pillars planted bore a big fruit—acceptance to the AFC as a full member last week during the 30th AFC Congress held virtually.

NMIFA vice president Vickie Izuka acknowledges the people who helped NMI soccer reach a milestone during the 30th Asian Football Confederation Congress held virtually last week. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

“I would like to appreciate their tremendous hard work. It is very hard to achieve this because we have many challenges like the size of population and limited human and financial resources. But the NMI soccer family’s contribution and dedication for the sport made this possible,” said Mita, who also serves as the NMI Men’s National Team’s head coach.

The people that helped grow NMI soccer celebrated with NMIFA, as they gave congratulatory messages virtually and wished the association continued success.

“I knew that this day will come because of the commitment of the people that carried on where I left off—Jerry (NMIFA president Jerry Tan), Vickie (vice president Vickie Izuka), Patty (former Executive Committee member Patricia Coleman), Norman (Executive Committee member Norman Del Rosario), and everyone involved in the program,” NMIFA founding director Sue Knecht said.

In this file photo, former CNMI Men’s National Team coach Kiyoshi Sekiguchi answers a question during a press conference for an Asian Football Confederation-sanctioned tournament in 2016. (Contributed Photo)

“Just seeing the pictures of the field (NMI Soccer Training Center), a great place for the community to play, and having proper games, it’s just amazing,” Knecht, who was also a former president of the MP United Football Club.

Former CNMI Tuberculosis Control program director Richard Brostrom, whose kids also played soccer on Saipan, recalled how they started with only 20 players that later grew into 50 and kept increasing as more and more people got involved with NMIFA. He added that they supported the program as a way to promote an active lifestyle on island.

In this screen grab, former Northern Mariana Islands Football Association director Vince Stavino gives a congratulatory message to NMIFA for becoming an ordinary member of the Asian Football Confederation. (Contributed Photo)

Former NMIFA officials David Khorram, Perry Tenorio, Vince Stravino, and Lyn Tenorio also gave congratulatory messages and recalled the program’s humble beginnings. Stravino said there were a lot of struggle, but with the hard work of the people passionate about the sport and the help of the Guam Football Association and other NMIFA supporters, the FA was able to achieve a great goal.

Sugao Kambe and Kiyoshi Sekiguchi, who served as NMI national coaches, were witnessed to those challenges as they worked with the inexperienced, but dedicated Commonwealth players.

Community members and leaders give NMIFA president Jerry Tan a round of applause for steering NMI soccer to a historic feat. (Contributed Photo)

“I remember when we played against North Korea in Guam in 2010 and we lost, 26-0. The following year, we won against Macau, 2-1, with the same players. Everybody worked hard to get better every game and through the continued efforts of NMIFA officials, the players remained motivated,” Sekiguchi said.

The time and effort that Sekiguchi and Kambe spent with the CNMI players plus the relentless work of former and current NMIFA officials paved the way for the Commonwealth’s acceptance to the AFC family.

“When I came here (2017), I saw a big potential for football development because of the genuine passion from all the people who had been involved or are still involved with the program. They proved that ‘nothing is impossible,’ that’s why we achieved this goal and this is also a good message to our players, especially the young ones,” Mita said.