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Soccer referee course set for fall season
Youth players fight for possession during the 2018 NMIFA Youth Spring League at the Koblerville Elementary School Field. The fall season is approaching and Nothern Mariana Islands Football Association will hold a basic referee course to get officials ready for the upcoming games. (Contributed Photo)
The Northern Mariana Islands Football Association’s Referee Committee has scheduled a basic referee course this Sept. 6 and 7 at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville.
The course will run from 6pm to 9pm on each day and aims at preparing officials for the 2018 NMIFA Fall Youth League that will kick off this weekend. The course will only involve interactive classroom sessions.
“The course is open to anyone interested to begin a referee career or wants to refresh their knowledge on officiating games. With the completion of the NMI Soccer Training Center, we are hoping to raise the quality and level of soccer on our island in all aspects, whether it’d be our leagues, coaches, players, referees, and more,” NMIFA Referee Committee vice chair Ruselle Zapanta said.
Zapanta will conduct the course, as he will give participants an overview of the laws of the game and guide them on their way to joining the CNMI’s pool of referees.
Besides educating and developing referees, the NMIFA has also launched the Club Development Support Project, which encourages each club to provide coaches to the different teams’ training sessions on weekdays. Coaches will work on the various clubs’ co-ed U11 and U13 squads. There will be 15 training sessions and they will start on Sept. 10 and run until late October.
Meanwhile, 57 teams will see action in the competitive and non-competitive divisions of the 2018 NMIFA Fall Youth League.
Kanoa Football Club and MP United have the most squads, as they will field 10 each. Kanoa has two teams in the U9 and U13A divisions and one each in the U6, U13B, U11, boys U15, girls U16, and boys U18. MP United has two teams each in the co-ed U9 and U11 and one apiece in the remaining divisions.
TanHoldings FC also has two squads in the U11, two more in the U13A, and one apiece in the other age groups, while Matansa will be represented by one team in each division. Shirley’s FC, Paire FC, Southern United FC, newcomer Fiesta Soccer Club, and Tinian Premier FC will have six, five, four, three, and two teams, respectively.
