NMIFA seeks to boost women’s program

From left, NMIFA general secretary Ross Zapanta, AFC WAP officials Betty Wong and Julie Teo, and NMIFA vice president Vickie Izuka pose for a photo at the NMIFA office after their meeting last Thursday.(ROSELYN B. MONROYO)

Julie Teo, head of the AFC Technical Division’s women’s development, and Betty Wong, women’s football manager of Hong Kong Football Association, were in town last week to introduce the program to all the stakeholders in the sport. The two officials met with NMIFA president Jerry Tan, general secretary Ross Zapanta, technical director Johann Noetzel, NMIFA youth and women’s committee chair and vice president Vickie Izuka, media representatives, and teachers/coaches from both the private and public schools on Saipan. The visitors discussed how the program works and the things that needed to be done to make it successful in the CNMI.

Teo said WAP was a relatively new program under AFC, as it was introduced last year. Before the CNMI, nine other countries have availed of the program. The list includes Bhutan, Laos, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Sri Lanka, Kuwait, Myanmar, and Kyrgyzstan. WAP, according to Teo, is a development tool that aims to customize development programs, according to each federation’s level of women’s football and needs.

“We provide recommendations, assessment, technical assistance, and other resources, such as clinics and training, to help AFC members,” said Wong, a former member of Hong Kong’s national team.

Teo added once they assess the current state of CNMI women’s football, they will provide NMIFA a “to-do list” and expect a periodical progress report from the association. The AFC official is aware of the lower population in the CNMI compared to other countries and that could be a challenge as far as recruitment of female players is concerned. However, because the island is small and people are not far away from each other, it is easy to get the stakeholders together and hear their concerns.

“We’ve been to many places where you need several days to contact people and get them together in one place. Here that’s not a problem, so your FA has to work on that advantage,” Teo said.

Meanwhile, Zapanta said they decided to have Teo and Wong meet teachers and officials from CNMI schools because NMIFA believes students will play an important role in the association’s plan to further boost its women’s program.

“The schools are our biggest source of players. These are where you get to develop young and fresh talents. I hope with the assistance of WAP, their technical expertise, guidance, and resources, we will be able to recruit more and younger players,” Zapanta said.
NMIFA, according to Izuka, so far has 320 members with age range from 15 to late 40s.

“There’s no age limit, as we would like to encourage everyone to play. However, in the women’s league, we accept only players in the 15-and-over age group. We may make some exceptions and accept U14, depending on the situation,” Izuka said.

The NMIFA vice president added that members of the women’s committee are excited to work with AFC officials.

“We are very interested as this will be the first time we will work together with AFC, exclusively for the women’s program. We are growing and it will be great if we could get guidance from AFC on how to run the program easier and more effectively,” Izuka said.