{"id":324755,"date":"2020-06-12T06:06:01","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T20:06:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=324755"},"modified":"2020-06-12T06:06:01","modified_gmt":"2020-06-11T20:06:01","slug":"coaches-wish-for-nmis-entry-to-fifa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/coaches-wish-for-nmis-entry-to-fifa\/","title":{"rendered":"Coaches wish for NMI\u2019s entry to FIFA"},"content":{"rendered":"
In this 2018 file photo, CNMI U15 Boys National Team captain Taka Borja (7) keeps a close eye on a Japan player during their game in the East Asian Football Federation U15 Boys Tournament in Xianghe, China. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Coaches Sugao Kambe, Kiyoshi Sekiguchi, and Michiteru Mita closed out last Saturday\u2019s Episode 4 of Footcast with Norman with a wish list for CNMI soccer.<\/p>\n

On top of it is Northern Mariana Islands Football Association\u2019s membership to the F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Internationale de Football Association, the highest governing body of the sport with over 200 members across six regional federations.<\/p>\n

In this 2015 file photo, former CNMI national team coach Kiyoshi Sekiguchi delivers a message to attendees of a Northern Mariana Islands Football Association-organized event. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBecoming a FIFA member means more opportunities to play in high-level tournaments for the CNMI. It will give players more experience in international play and more opportunity to learn and improve their games,\u201d said Kambe, who coached the CNMI men\u2019s and women\u2019s national teams in 2008.<\/p>\n

The CNMI, through the NMIFA, has taken the necessary steps to gain FIFA membership. NMIFA sought and was granted full membership to the East Asian Football Federation. It has also gained associate membership status with the Asian Football Confederation, while full membership to AFC will move the CNMI closer to joining the FIFA family.<\/p>\n

In this 2017 file photo, CNMI coach Michiteru Mita, fourth left, joins his counterpart in a press conference for the Asian Football Confederation U16 Championship 2018 Qualifiers in Bangkok, Thailand. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cGetting FIFA membership is very important because this will give the CNMI more resources, which it can use to further develop its program. As what coach Kambe said, there will be many opportunities\u2014financial, technical, administrative, and others\u2014available for the CNMI when it gets FIFA membership,\u201d said Sekiguchi, who took over the reins from Kambe and handled the Commonwealth\u2019s national teams in 2010-2011 and 2014-2016.<\/p>\n

Mita, the current CNMI coach and NMIFA technical director, on the other hand, mentioned one of the \u201cprivileges\u201d that FIFA member-countries get\u2014to play in World Cup qualifiers.<\/p>\n

Volunteers hold the FIFA Fair Play flag during the opening ceremony for the 2019 Marianas Cup in Guam. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s every player\u2019s dream to play in World Cup. For us, even in World Cup qualifiers, we wish to see that dream come true someday,\u201d said Mita.<\/p>\n

Sekiguchi, besides wishing the CNMI to get FIFA membership, also hopes to see the Commonwealth challenge Japan\u2019s national team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to see that game\u2014NMI vs Japan\u2014and we will all watch together,\u201d said Sekiguchi.<\/p>\n

In this 2009 file photo, former CNMI coach Sugao Kambe, standing right, poses with the U13 national youth developmental team before their training session at the Garapan Elementary School Field. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThat would be a game for a lifetime,\u201d said Footcast with Norman host and NMIFA Executive Committee member Norman Del Rosario said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Footcast with Norman will continue this Saturday with Episode 5 featuring the CNMI Women\u2019s National Team\u2019s first victory (against Macau, 7-0, in the 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup Preliminary Round 1 in Guam). Joining Del Rosario in the 8pm discussion are Carrie Schuler, Emily Maxberry, Meg Silberberger, Gabrielle Race, Mikky Vargas, Neeka Atalig, and Chevy Alipio, who all played for the winning team in 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coaches Sugao Kambe, Kiyoshi Sekiguchi, and Michiteru Mita closed out last Saturday\u2019s Episode 4 of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":324759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[10334,257],"class_list":["post-324755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-fifa","tag-nmi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}