Northern Mariana Islands national football team
Encyclopedia
The Northern Mariana Islands national football team is the international football team of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines...

, controlled by the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association
Northern Mariana Islands Football Association
The Northern Mariana Islands Football Association is the governing body of football in the Northern Mariana Islands. It was founded in 2005 and received full membership into the East Asian Football Federation in 2008...

.

The association is a member of the East Asian Football Federation
East Asian Football Federation
The East Asian Football Federation , founded on May 28, 2002, is an international governing body of association football in East Asia.-Member Associations:EAFF has 10 member associations...

. They first participated internationally as a guest team in the U-14 East Asian Football Federation Youth Festival in July 2006 in Beijing. In December 2006, the EAFF admitted the Northern Mariana Islands as a provisional member, granting full membership in September 2008.

Until 2009, the first team had only competed against neighbours Guam
Guam national football team
The Guam national football team is the national team of Guam, an overseas territory of the United States in the Pacific Ocean, and is controlled by the Guam Football Association. They are affiliated to the Asian Football Confederation's East Asian Football Federation region.The team was founded in...

 - in the East Asian Football Championship 2008 and annual Marianas Cup. The qualification process for the 2010 EAFF Championship
East Asian Football Championship 2010
The fourth edition of the East Asian Football Championship was held between 6 and 14 February 2010. Two preliminary competitions were held during 2009....

 was altered from the previous edition, meaning the team finally faced competition from further afield.

In July 2009 The AFC Exco agreed to accept the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association (NMIFA) as an Associate Member of the Asian Football Confederation
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football in Asia. It has 46 member countries, mostly located on the Asian continent. However, due to the disputed boundary of Europe and Asia, nations such as Russia and Turkey which are located mostly in geographic Asia are...

, after the association resigned from the Oceania Football Confederation
Oceania Football Confederation
The Oceania Football Confederation is one of the six continental confederations of international association football, consisting of Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and island nations such as Tonga, Fiji and other Pacific Island countries...

 in June 2009, paving the way to join AFC. The NMIFA will be a provisional member until the next AFC Congress, when it has the chance to be ratified as a permanent Associate Member.

On June 19, 2010 the NMI earned a 1-1 draw with neighbor Guam in the 2010 Marianas Cup. The match ended in a draw as there was insufficient lighting to continue the match after the end of regulation. Joe Miller scored for the NMI in the 68th minute and Jason Cunliffe answered in the 89th minute to salvage a draw for Guam.

Selected internationals

Date Venue Opponent Score Tournament
19 June 2010 CNMI 1–1 2010 Marianas Cup
15 March 2009 Guam 1–4 2010 East Asian Football Championship Preliminary Competition
13 March 2009 Guam 1–2 2010 East Asian Football Championship Preliminary Competition and 2009 Marianas Cup
11 March 2009 Guam 1–6 2010 East Asian Football Championship Preliminary Competition
27 April 2008 CNMI 2–3 2008 Marianas Cup
1 April 2007 Guam 0–9 2008 East Asian Football Championship Preliminary qualification and 2007 Marianas Cup
25 March 2007 CNMI 2–3 2008 East Asian Football Championship Preliminary qualification

Coaching History

Name Nat Tenure
Jeff "Ziggy" Korytoski   2007
Jason Higgins   2007
Nicolas Swaim   2008
Sugao Kambe
Sugao Kambe
is a Japanese football coach who had stints as national coach of the Philippines, Guam and Northern Mariana Islands national teams.As a player, he played for Shizuoka High School, Waseda University and Honda F.C....

  2009
Kiyoshi Sekiguchi-Advisor   2010

Current squad

The following members were named to the national team for 2010 EAFF Championship qualifier
East Asian Football Championship 2010
The fourth edition of the East Asian Football Championship was held between 6 and 14 February 2010. Two preliminary competitions were held during 2009....

.

External links

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