NMIFA in the News

This was printed in the Marianas Variety today:

Koreans, Bangladeshis to kick off action in Men’s Summer Open League
By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

THE 2007 NMIFA Men’s Summer Open League will start this Sunday with the Korean Football Association and Bangladeshi Sports Club opening the action at the Oleai Sports Complex Field.

KFA and the Bangladeshis will collide at 2:30 p.m., while Fiesta Inter and PTI duel in the second match at 4:30 p.m.

Completing the five-team field of the men’s summer soccer league is Independents, which drew a bye in the opener.

The league will have a single round robin format in the regular season with the top two teams after the preliminary games advancing to the winner-take-all finals.
Independents will debut next Sunday against PTI at 4:30 p.m. The first game on July 29 will have KFA challenging Fiesta Inter at 2:30 p.m.

All games will be played at the Oleai Field, unless organizers made last minute changes.

The league will not hold regular season games in the first Sunday of August, but teams will still be playing in a goodwill tournament against the visiting Guam and Hong Kong Masters.

The results of the tournament will not be counted in the team standings in the men’s league.

The goodwill meet will be held on Aug. 4 and 5 with the format and schedule to be announced later. Games will be played at the Oleai and CPA fields.

The regular season game will resume on Aug. 19 with PTI taking on BSC at 2:30 p.m. and Fiesta Inter meeting Independents in the second game.

On Aug. 26, Fiesta Inter will battle BSC in the first game, while KFA square off with Independents in the second match.

The last regular season game will have BSC facing Independents and KFA dueling PTI on Sept. 2.

The championship game or the Tapochao Derby is set for Sept. 9 at 4:30 p.m. A consolation match between the third and fourth-ranked teams is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

Each team will be awarded three points for every win, one for a draw and none for a loss.

In case of a tie at the end of the regular season, the final rankings will be decided by the goal differential for the season, total goals, head to head results or a coin flip.