NMIFA sweeps Coach, Administrator, Team of the Year

t was a clean sweep of three awards for the NMI Football Association and the sport of soccer as Michiteru Mita, the NMIFA’s former head coach/technical director was hailed as the 2023 Coach of the Year, while general secretary Ross Zapanta claimed the 2023 Administrator of the Year award, and the NMI U23 National Football Team was named the 2023 Team of the Year.

All three were awarded during the 2023 NMSA Sports Award Banquet last Wednesday night at the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan.

Mita served as technical director of the NMI Football Association for nearly seven years—the longest by any TD in the NMI. Before leaving the NMI last January, he drafted a five-year Youth Development that would help ensure the continuity and development of the youth program on the islands

In 2023, Mita coached the NMI Men’s National Football Team to its first participation in the Pacific Games. He also coached the national team to its first-ever Pacific Games victory, piloting the NMI to a 4-0 win over American Samoa. He also coached the NMI U23 Men’s National Team that defeated Guam in the Marianas Cup. It was the first time that the NMI won in the men’s division of the Marianas Cup since the event’s inception in 2007.

Mita, who is now a coach in Myanmar, sent a video message during the banquet and thanked NMIFA. He said, “This award was given not only to me, but also to the entire soccer coaches. Thank you very much for your hard work and dedication, and support to the players and the community.”

Mita added, “I wish you all the best and to have continued success—not only soccer in the NMI, but also all the sports in the NMI. I hope to see you soon.”

As for Zapanta, he has been serving as the general secretary of NMIFA for more than a decade. He oversees the implementation of NMIFA’s various programs—youth, men’s, women’s, and interscholastic; handles communications of NMIFA with the East Asian Football Federation and the Asian Football Confederation, and other local and international stakeholders.

He said that he was surprised that he was nominated and selected, but is grateful for the recognition. “I love sports and I consider working for a sports organization as a privilege. Managing a football organization is equally challenging and exciting and it’s really nice to be a part of the team that built this very nice training facility on Saipan where we all witnessed the growth and popularity of the sport. I think the sport of football has contributed in a lot of positive ways to the community and it’s fulfilling to feel that I have been a part of the organization responsible for developing the sport locally. I am also happy for all the players who were able to travel and experience being in different countries because of football.”

He then said, “If I were a good administrator, it’s because I have a very supportive group of officials and staff members within NMIFA. Our [executive committee] members are always working as a team and have always contributed a lot of their time in planning the growth and development of the sport. We have dedicated coaches who provide year-round training for the national teams and at the same time also help organize the leagues for men, women, youth, and even the schools. We treated each other almost like family so managing the team is not a difficult task.”

Zapanta then thanked NMIFA president Jerry Tan for the opportunity to work for the NMIFA, and his wife and sons.

As for the NMI U23 National Football Team that was named the 2023 Team of the Year, Zapanta said he is very proud of them. “Most of these young players came from our youth grassroots program so their victory over Guam just validated the progress of our grassroots program. More than that, it proved that the year-round coaching, training, and hard work of our players had elevated the level of play so we are now very competitive against Guam and some other countries as well.”

With Mita’s award, Zapanta said it is “verycwell deserved.” He said he worked alongside him and attests how “hardworking and dedicated he is for developing football in the NMI.”

“We will truly miss coach Mita, not only for his hard work, but because he was able to adjust to the local culture and gain the respect of NMIFA stakeholders,” ended Zapanta.