Canape bids farewell to THFC

Tan Holdings Football Club officials and coaches pose with secretary general Ladyvir Canape during a farewell gathering.(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Longtime team manager and general secretary for the Tan Holdings Football Club, Ladyvir Canape, bids the club a bittersweet farewell as she relocates to neighboring Guam this month.

Canape leaves her second home, Saipan, to relocate for work in Guam and joins her husband Guillermo Canape. The married couple spent 14 years supporting the football club, watching their players grow to eventually become national football players.

“I am heartbroken to leave the club, but I’m excited to start this new chapter. I’m relocating to Guam for work and to also be with my husband and my two kids who are staying there,” said Canape. She leaves behind not only the football club, but also several non-profit organizations that she has joyfully served.

THFC president Alex Sablan expressed his gratitude and thanked Canape for her 14 years of service and commitment to the football club. 

“We could not have been more favored to have a general secretary like Ladyvir who has always inspired the team to strive to achieve above the best,” said Sablan. 

According to Canape, she began as a parent supporting her children before becoming an assistant to the late Glicerio “Eli” Arago, who was the president of THFC before his untimely death, and eventually Canape gained the title as a THFC club manager. After the departure of then general secretary Ador Dimaano, Canape officially became THFC general secretary and has been for the past 12 years.

“In 2008, I was awarded Volunteer of the Year. The following year in February 2009, I was asked to volunteer myself for soccer. I was just a parent bringing my kids and watching their games until it finished… I became an assistant to [Arago] and did what needed to be done for the club,” Canape recalls her first involvement with the club as a coach for the U6 division, where her two youngest sons participated in THFC.

Since joining THFC, Canape has developed coach-parent relationships with the parents of all the THFC soccer players. She is saddened to leave behind a club that she has helped build for the past 14 years.

Canape is proud of how much the club has grown and is proud to pass on her legacy to the new THFC general secretary Carline Sablan. Sablan is no stranger to the soccer scene as she was once a member and a women’s division soccer player of the Kanoa Football Club. 

“I want to thank outgoing general secretary Ladyvir for her many years of service to Tan Holdings Football Club. She has contributed significantly to the Club, and I wish her well as she begins a new chapter in life,” said Sablan. 

Additionally, Sablan thanked THFC president Alex Sablan and the club’s leadership for the opportunity to be part of the THFC team and the confidence they have expressed in her through this appointment.

“Ladyvir leaves some pretty big shoes to fill, and I am definitely up for the challenge,” said Sablan. In addition, she hopes to focus on encouraging THFC growth specifically the inclusion of female participation in our club especially in the early- to mid-adolescence age group (ages 11-17) and attracting, engaging, and retaining coaches.

The Tan Holdings Football Club Officers are Alex Sablan, president; Ariel Mariano, vice president; Judy Mendieta, secretary/treasurer; Carline Sablan, general secretary; Edna Nisola, deputy general secretary; Justine Nauta, team manager; and Ericka Santiago, team manager.

For more information or to participate in the Tan Holdings Football Club, contact THFC general secretary Carline Sablan at (670) 483-5634. (PR)