{"id":341299,"date":"2021-03-31T06:04:33","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T20:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=341299"},"modified":"2021-03-31T06:04:33","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T20:04:33","slug":"womens-football-in-cnmi-gains-recognition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/womens-football-in-cnmi-gains-recognition\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s football in CNMI gains recognition"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Northern Mariana Islands Football Association observed International Women\u2019s Month with its celebration Women\u2019s Football Day last Sunday. (Kimberly A. Bautista)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In observance of International Women\u2019s Month, Northern Mariana Islands Football Association president Jerry Tan applauded the continuing advancement of women\u2019s football in the CNMI during NMIFA\u2019s celebration of AFC Women\u2019s Football Day 2021 last Sunday at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville. <\/p>\n

During the ceremony, Tan said in the global arena, football is known to be a predominantly male sport. However, he is proud to say that that is not the case in the CNMI as NMIFA strives to give equal importance and support to its women\u2019s program. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s not difficult for NMIFA to organize the annual Women\u2019s Football Day every March because we have a solid program behind it and this is something I am very proud of,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Tan explained that he is proud of the eagerness and ongoing participation of women and girls in football. <\/p>\n

\u201cAFC is also very committed and proud of our program as well this is something that in the FIFA level and the AFC level, not every member association is doing enough or giving equal support to our women\u2019s program and this is something I am proud of, the women\u2019s participation over the years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

NMIFA vice president Vicky Izuka said NMIFA has come a long way in its 16 years of women\u2019s football but it still has a long way to go to continue to introduce more women to the sport. \u201cBut we are so proud of how far we\u2019ve come in women\u2019s football development,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

In a statement from AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, he said women\u2019s football in Asia has achieved incredible development over the past decade and the huge success could not be accomplished without the passion and hard work of women from difference parts of the continent. <\/p>\n

\u201cCoinciding with the International Women\u2019s Day, the AFC Women\u2019s Football Day underlines the AFC\u2019s commitment to recognize and honor the dedication of the women in the sport. The AFC calls on everyone to join hands and pay tribute to women for their significant contributions in promoting and developing our great game,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

During the celebration, NMIFA invited 20 distinguished female guests, all of whom hold positions of influence in the CNMI, to participate in basic soccer drills and a few exhibitions matches.<\/p>\n

The guests include U.S. District Court for the NMI Magistrate Judge Heather Kennedy, U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona Manglona, CNMI Reps. Laila Staffler (D-Saipan) and Denita Yangetemai (D-Saipan), Tanapag Middle School principal Hilda Rios, Koblerville Elementary School principal Naomi Nishimura, Gregorio T. Camacho principal Raena Camacho, Chacha Oceanview Middle School principal Martha Kintol, Saipan Southern High School counselor Ana Mendiola, 2020 Miss Northern Marianas Earth Maria Terlaje, 2021 First Runner-up Marianas Bernadette Horey, 2021 Miss Marianas Savannah Delos Santos, 2021 Miss Mariana People\u2019s Choice Toremy Diaz, D&Q\u2019s Marilyn Marron, TakeCare Saipan\u2019s Melani Santos, Evelyn Lopez of CTSI, TanHoldings representative Loyda Ito, Shirley Kim of Sun Palace Hotel, D&Q\u2019s Kaylani Shiro, and nurse Julie Hall. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In observance of International Women\u2019s Month, Northern Mariana Islands Football Association president Jerry Tan applauded…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":341301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[26,679],"class_list":["post-341299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-cnmi","tag-football-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341299","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\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}