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Interview with Jerry Tan
President of NMIFA

Profile：
Born 31 May 1961 in Hong Kong. Moved to Guam with his family in 1973. Played on the school and company football teams, making great contributions as a highly skillful midfielder, and continued playing as an amateur after moving to Saipan in 1990. Possessing outstanding business acumen and always showing respect towards others, the successful yet modest entrepreneur enjoys a high reputation. His business, Tan Holdings Corporation, extends to such areas as hotel management, IT, real estate and entertainment, and he also serves as Chairman of the Mariana Tourism Board. President of the NMIFA since 2005.

--Working Towards Admission to FIFA and AFC--
During the past year and a half, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association (NMIFA) has been working hard towards the admission to FIFA and AFC. Few people may associate the Northern Mariana Islands with football. As a dominion of USA, it is not surprising that the most popular sports here are baseball and basketball. There is no doubt that the situation here in the Northern Mariana Islands concurs with FIFA’s goal of “developing football in all corners of the world.” We are fully aware of the lack of interest here in football. That is precisely why continuing our efforts is the key to success. Schools play a major role in sports activities in the Northern Mariana Islands, so we visited every single school on the islands of Saipan, Rota and Tinian to ask that football be included in the curriculum. Our efforts paid off as the number of football players dramatically increased from 100 to 500 among kids and from zero to 100 among women. An AFC inspection team paid us a visit in November of last year and highly commended us on our achievements thus far. At the same time, they pointed out that our biggest challenge is to train coaches and referees.

As a first step, we organized the “Football Seminar in Saipan” the day after the first leg of the 2008 East Asian Football Championship Preliminary Competition against Guam, inviting Mr. Ichiro Fujita, Technical Study Officer of the match, and Mr. Thomson Chan, the Referee Assessor. We felt a strong passion for football from the many participants who took part in the seminar. We recognize that we also need to work on upgrading our facilities and increasing the hours of football coverage on television, but we are not in a hurry to overcome all the challenges at once. Rather than aiming for a place in the FIFA World Cup™ or for a higher FIFA ranking, we will take one step at a time, concentrating on realistic goals such as increasing overall interest in football.

--Playing Our First International Match with a Strong Will for Victory--
NMIFA is already recognized as an associate member of the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF). The recent match against Guam was the first international match for our national “A” team in the history of NMIFA and a match of great significance. Our team had trained very hard to demonstrate their best performance. We called on Mr. Ziggy Korytoski, coach of the Ohio University football team in the US, to become the first national team coach of the Northern Mariana Islands. Training began in early February, focusing on both teamwork and individual skills through highly intensive sessions. Head Coach Korytoski’s biggest achievement was to instill in the players a strong determination to win.

As the match day approached, you could see the change in the expressions of the players; and we were very moved when we dropped by their hotel the day before the match and the whole team proudly announced to us, “We will win tomorrow!” Although the result was a 2-3 loss for us, we were proud to have made two goals against our big brother, Guam. We came so close to winning, I would give our team a score of 100 for their wonderful performance.

--Hoping the People of the Northern Mariana Islands Will Take Full Pleasure in Football--
Although my daily schedule as a businessman was extremely busy and I had my hands full, I made the decision to take on the position of President of NMIFA and dedicate myself towards the development of football because of the advice from my close friend, Richard Lai, President of the Guam Football Association, with whom I played football in my younger days. He encouraged me saying, “Jerry, you can do it. I will help you any time when you are in need, so why not do this for the people of the Northern Mariana Islands?” I remembered the time I spent in Guam from age 12 to 29. I played football in school and on a corporate team. At that time, Guam was not yet a member of FIFA. We had fun playing football, but unfortunately we had no chance to play on a competitive level. Look at Guam now. Eleven years have passed since they joined FIFA, and Guam has made great strides in all areas, developing their national league, youth training, women’s football, referees and futsal. Football has become the number one sports in Guam.

Things can change, and I am genuinely surprised but in a positive way. I love football from the bottom of my heart. I have this strong desire to create an environment in which our young generation can fully enjoy football, and that is why I decided to devote my time to assist in any way I can. I wish to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support to the development of football in our region and for their kind efforts in assisting us to become a member of FIFA and AFC.

First Leg of the 2008 East Asian Football Championship Preliminary Competition:
Hard Work of the Northern Mariana Islands and Resolute Spirit of Guam Touch the Hearts of Onlookers

On March 25, the first leg of the 2008 East Asian Football Championship Preliminary Competition Playoff between the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam was held at the Civic Center Field in Saipan. After a close and intense goal-getting battle, Guam came on top 3-2. The contrast of the two teams was striking. Joining FIFA in 1996, Guam had accumulated the experience of playing on the international level, such as the preliminary competitions of the FIFA World Cup™, the AFC Asian Cup and the East Asian Football Championship. They fielded a young team comprised mainly of university students. On the other hand, currently applying for admission to FIFA, this match was the international debut for the Northern Mariana Islands. They selected a veteran team with eight players over the age of 40. Wesley Bogdan was born 1 August 1958, which makes him 48 years old.

Guam’s head coach, Norio Tsukitate, claimed after the pre-match day training that in the heat of over 30 degrees, even the seemingly endless stamina of his young players and international experience cannot be counted on as an advantage. “Football is a drama without a script; you can never be sure what the outcome will be,” said Tsukitate with a serious look. When the Japanese referee, Hiroyoshi Takayama, blew the whistle at 4 p.m. on March 25, the match unfolded just as Tsukitate predicted. Guam had better control of the ball and kept on attacking. In the 9th minute, they cut through to the center from the left side, finishing with a goal by Alan Jamison. In fact, Guam attempted 19 shots at the goal in the first half, but most were denied by GK Benjamin Wood’s fantastic saves and the undaunted defensemen who made up for their lack in speed by refusing to let the ball go by them. By half time, Guam led by a mere 1-0. Guam’s head coach Tsukitate told his men to be more aggressive in attack and to add more goals, whereas NMI’s head coach Korytoski instructed his team to stay back, defend and take advantage of that one chance. NMI indeed found openings and struck with counter-attacks. In the 56th minute, a direct free kick found Mark McDonald, who headed the ball into the net to tie the score. “Goal! Let’s go, Northern Mariana Islands!” As the exhilarating voice of the DJ traveled around the stadium, the 726 supporters cheered enthusiastically, some bouncing and dancing to the rhythm of drums, and the excitement ignited. For the exhausted NMI players, many with cramps in their legs from the demanding defensive efforts, the equalizer had a big impact as well. Though Guam took the lead again with a Zachary Pangelinan goal in the 65th minute, NMI demonstrated unbelievable tenacity with another goal by McDonald, originating again from a free kick in the 74th minute. NMI’s aggressive and brave attempts to keep moving forward invited Guam’s fouls, leading to the two free kicks, not to mention NMI’s determination to take full advantage of the free kicks and making sure to score.

However, the young Guam players showed no sign of discouragement. In the 77th minute, Ian Mariano took a tremendous shot from mid range out of the crowded vital area, and Guam was ahead for the third time. Instead of falling back on defense, Guam kept attacking and produced a total of 37 shots on goal throughout the match, finally defeating the Northern Mariana Islands 3-2.

Guam’s goalie, Brett Maluwelmeng, seemed relieved as he said, “Our game was not great and we should not be happy about that. We have a couple of things to work on before the second leg.”

Korytoski, head coach of the Northern Mariana Islands, commented proudly:

“The result is disappointing, but we scored two goals and our systematic defense worked, so we did gain a lot from this match.” The second leg will take place in Guam on April 1. The winner of the two-leg playoff will qualify for the 2008 EAFC Preliminary Competition, which will be hosted by Macau June 17-24. Guam gained the upper hand with an away win, but it is no exaggeration to say the first-leg match proves that both teams still have an equal chance.

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