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Tryouts for women’s national teams start tomorrow
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Posted on Dec 01 2020
A Matansa Football Club player kicks the ball in front of Southern United Football Club defenders during last year’s NMIFA Spring Youth League at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville. (Contributed Photo)
Northern Mariana Islands Football Association will kick off a series of tryouts for two women’s national teams tomorrow at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville.
The open tryouts are for the CNMI’s girls U16 and U19 national teams, according to NMIFA coaching staff member Angie Ito. There will be 10 sessions for the December tryouts, while the next schedule is still being finalized. The tryouts for returning and new players are set from 4pm to 6pm on Dec. 2, 4, 7, 11, 16, 18, 21, 23, 28, and 30.
Players interested in joining the tryouts must be born between 2002 and 2005 for the girls U19 national team and between 2005 and 2008 for the girls U16 national squad. They must also hold a valid U.S. passport and complete the NMIFA COVID-19 waiver. NMIFA will strictly implement COVID-19 safety protocols before, during, and after the tryouts or as long as players are at the premise of the NMISTC.
In this file photo, the CNMI’s Christina Atalig pushes the ball away from Hong Kong defenders during their game in the 2019 East Asian Football Federation U15 Girls Festival at the Mokpo International Football Training Center in South Korea. (EAST ASIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION)
Players that will earn spots on the national team will have a chance to represent the CNMI to two Asian Football Confederation-sanctioned competitions. According to Ito, initially the Commonwealth is supposed to send its national squad to the AFC U20 and U17 Championship Qualifiers slated for March and April next year, respectively. NMIFA is still waiting for AFC announcements on the new dates for various competitions in the zone, as the confederation’s calendar of events were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The last off-island tournament that Commonwealth female players participated in was the East Asian Football Federation U15 Girls Festival in August 2019 in South Korea. The CNMI bets played against Guam, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Chinese-Taipei, and China.
NMIFA, despite the absence of regular competitions on and off-island this year due to the pandemic, is hoping to draw more female players to the national team program to boost its stock and prepare for the resumption of international tournaments.
“This training and tryout sessions will further help develop our women’s, youth, and national team programs,” Ito said.
