Previous Story
TOP STORIES OF 2015
2. Tournament rush for CNMI football players
The CNMI’s Mareko Tekopua, right, stays close on defense against Laos’ Thanousone Silipanya during the first half of their game in the AFC U16 Championship India 2016 Qualifiers last September at the National Sports Complex Stadium in Vientiane, Laos. (Contributed Photo)
CNMI football players had their most international exposures in 2015, as they competed in six off-island tournaments.
The first tournament was for the CNMI U14 Girls National Team, which participated in the AFC U14 Girls Regional Championships (East) 2015 at the National Football Training Centre in Beijing, China, and managed to score one goal in the event, thanks to Guinevere Borja’s shot against Hong Kong in the last game of the squad.
Up next for the Commonwealth bets was the Luen Thai Cup where the CNMI Women’s All-Stars stunned eventual champion and host Chelsea FC Soccer School (HK), 2-1.
From Hong Kong, the CNMI players returned to Beijing for the AFC U14 Regional Festival of Football 2015 (boys). The Teen Ayuyus went on to notch a win in the Asian Football Confederation-sanctioned event, beating Guam, 4-0.
The Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, who was in charge of forming the CNMI national teams, sent two more squads to AFC-organized competitions. The Commonwealth had its U16 crew flying to Vientiane, Laos for the AFC U16 Championship India 2016 Qualifiers and U19 team to Bangkok, Thailand, for the AFC U19 Championship Bahrain 2016 Qualifiers.
The last to leave Saipan for a regional tournament was the CNMI U13 Boys National Team, which saw action in the East Asian Football Federation Boys U13 Festival 2015 in Guam.
