The people of Kapari-Viriolo celebrated Christmas with a Cricket Tournament hosted by Konepoti Cricket Club from 27th to 31st December 2022.
Konepoti POM Cricket Club President, Pona Agi said about 25 years ago, this sport was played in the village but then it went dormant.
He said the launch would revive the sport in the Kapari & Virolo villages with the aim to push them further.
“We decided to try and bring the game back here, revive the young kids get them motivated into playing cricket and hopefully we try and slowly push them down to town competition and our goal is having one or two boys represent barramundis would be very good for us. That’s basically our aim,” said Agi.
The community wanted to revive the sport so the elite from the area found ways to sponsor the launch. One of the major sponsors was KPHL, represented by Dr. Ila Temu.
“This is a cricket village. We used to play cricket here many, many years ago and I remember playing on this field as well. We are not unknown to cricket. So my message as patron and as major sponsor is please play the game in the spirit of Christmas,” Dr Temu said.
Agi said the event will be held every two years. He said it was the desire of the senior citizens of Kapari village to see their younger generation pick up the sport and continue playing.
“Our role is to run the technical side of this tournament, at the same time we are looking for new talent. Anyone who we can bring into Moresby to further their knowledge and training. We also giving that opportunity to the people of Kapari,” said Agi.
There were eight teams formed to participate in this tournament but may increase later as they find sponsors.