{"id":318846,"date":"2020-03-10T06:04:44","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T20:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=318846"},"modified":"2020-03-10T06:04:44","modified_gmt":"2020-03-09T20:04:44","slug":"womens-soccer-has-come-a-long-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/womens-soccer-has-come-a-long-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s soccer has come a long way"},"content":{"rendered":"
Participants and organizers of the Asian Football Confederation Women\u2019s Football Day pose for a photo before starting the activities last Sunday at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More than a decade ago, CNMI female players\u2019 experience in soccer was limited to suiting up in a co-ed league and running around makeshift pitches.<\/p>\n

Today, the Commonwealth\u2019s female players have a league of their own and even had an event solely dedicated to them\u2014the Asian Football Confederation-led 2020 Women\u2019s Football Day held last Sunday at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen\u2019s soccer has come a long way in the CNMI. I still remember playing in fields (Commonwealth Ports Authority and American Memorial Park) covered in potholes and how the Oleai pitch (Oleai Sports Complex) was the luxury field. I am so grateful that the federation (Northern Mariana Islands Football Association) continues to support the game and that so many women, like Catherine Toves, Patty Coleman, and Mae Ito, are the force behind the organization,\u201d said Kathy Ruszala, who was among the nearly 200 female players that participated in last Sunday\u2019s activities, including the 3 v 3 Jamboree.<\/p>\n