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NMIFA to send off AFC-bound teams
Northern Mariana Islands Football Association will hold one send-off ceremony for the three CNMI national teams that will compete in Asian Football Confederation-sanctioned tournaments this month.
Logan Mister leads a group from the CNMI U14 National Team in doing training drills at the Oleai Sports Complex Field last month. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)
The ceremony will start at 3pm this Saturday at the lobby of Kanoa Resort with NMIFA officials, players and their parents, and officers of different clubs invited to join the event for the CNMI U14, U16, and U19 national squads.
The U14 team will be leaving for Beijing, China this Sunday to participate in the AFC U14 Regional Festival of Football that will take place from Sept. 7 to 14. Clayton Izuka and John Joseph Bucayo, defenders Cole Chambers, Cody Leon, David Mafnas, Sebastien Manabat, Dai Podziewski, and Leandro Bichayda, midfielders Jonathan Capayas, Joshua Abragan, Joshua De Leon, Andruw Omelau, Edward Joon Cho, Logan Mister, Jonah Pohl, and Mark Esalan, and forwards Thaiphi Austria and John Michael Rojas are the members of the team, which will be coached by Chelsea FC Soccer School Hong Kong technical director Luam Khen Koo and managed by Derek Chambers.
Three days after the U14 crew’s departure, it will be the U16 squad’s turn to leave Saipan for Laos for the AFC U16 Championship India 2016 Qualifiers. The competition in Laos will run from Sept. 12 to 20 with Christopher Aninzo, Clayton Izuka, James Ermitanio, Alan Hinson, Mareko Tekopua, Alex Park, Louie Calayag, Emannuel Aniana, Sunjoon Tenorio, Edwin Kim, Anthony Fruit, JAbragan, Jonathan Capayas, Chad Shankweiler, Abragan, Chambers, Leon, De Leon, Austria, and Podziewski suiting up for team that will be coached by NMIFA technical director Kiyoshi Sekiguchi.
In Laos, Sekiguchi’s wards will be playing against the hosts, East Timor, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the CNMI U19 National Team will be the last group to leave as they depart for Bangkok on Sept. 25 in time for the AFC U19 Championship Bahrain 2016 Qualifier that will take place from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4.
The U19 team is sending 21 players to Thailand and will be coached, too by Sekiguchi. The squad is composed of Aninzo, Tekopua, Shankweiller, Aniana, Joshua Galarion, Joel Fruit, Hunter Jewell, Jehn Joyner, Scott Kim, Yoshi Mafnas, Greg Sablan, Terrence Thosert-Belcher, Enrico Del Rosario, Euly James Ermitanio, Alan Hinson, Kennedy Izuka, Won Young Kim, John Diego Masga, Ryan Relucio , Sean Perez, and Ryu Tanzawa, and reserves Reniel Relucio, Louie Calayag, and Jordan Butcher. They will challenge the hosts, South Korea, Singapore, and Chinese-Taipei.
