3v3 grassroots football tourney draws 25 teams

Nine more teams signed up for the 2015 NMIFA 3v3 Grassroots Football Day Tournament, bringing the field to this Saturday’s competition at the Oleai Sports Complex Field to 25.

Kanoa, right, and Matansa U10 players are in action during NMIFA’s spring festival in April this year at the Koblerville Elementary School. The island’s U10 players will be back at the pitch this weekend to compete in the 2015 NMIFA 3v3 Grassroots Football Day. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The tournament, which was originally set for May 16 in celebration of the AFC Grassroots Football Day, but was cancelled due to Typhoon Dolphin, will feature teams in four divisions with the U10 and U12A drawing the most entries with seven apiece. The U8 division has six teams, while the U12B lured five squads.

All divisions will implement a round-robin format in the elimination and only the Top 4 teams will advance to the playoffs with the No. 1 squad battling the No. 4 finisher and No. 2 and 3 placers colliding in the other semis pairing. Each match will be played in two seven-minute halves.

MPU8-1 and MPU8-2 lead the cast of U8 division and will be joined by THFC-Nature, Paire FC, Matansa, and KNFC Might Duck, while the U10 age group has THFC Dark, THFC Bright, KNFC Might Orange, MPU10-1 and 2, Shirley’s FC and Paire FC.

In the U12 division, Group A has THFC Chrome, Paire 3 Stooges, Kanoa Rangers 1 and 2, Forza MPU, Paire No.1s, and Matansa, while SFC Hunger Goals, MPU12B 1 and 2, Paire FC, and KNFC Vibrant are in Group B.

Games will start at 9:30am, while registration will begin at 8am. Each division will hold two matches at the same time. In the U8 division, the first two pairings will have MPU8-1 meeting THFC-Nature and Paire FC dueling MPU8-2. In the U10 age group, the first two games are THFC Dark vs KNFC Might Orange and THFC Bright over MPU10-2. For Group B of the U12 division, SFC Hunger Goals will face MPU12B-1, while MPU12B-1 till take on Paire in the other opening match. Completing the lineup of opening games are the tiffs between THFC Chrome and Paire 3 Stooges and Kanoa Rangers 1 and 2 in Group B.

“We are expecting a lot of exciting games from the participating teams,” NMIFA general secretary Ross Zapanta said.

“AFC is encouraging its members to hold activities during AFC Grassroots Football Day and NMIFA technical director Kiyoshi Sekiguchi decided to have this 3v3 because we had a very good turnout from the same tournament last year. NMIFA if planning to have an annual 3v3 tournament even if it does not coincide with the AFC Grassroots Football Day,” Zapanta added.