Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) Chief Executive Officer, Stanley Hondina, confirmed that the Digicel ExxonMobil cup competition will have its women’s competition starting August this year.
Hondina said the PNGRFL is promoting gender equality and equal participation not only on the football field but also at the workplace.
He said having the Women’s semi-professional competition running will do good for the code and sponsors alike. He provided how the initial competition would look like when it commences in four months’ time.
“Women’s Digicel ExxonMobil Cup will start this year in August, running for 7 weeks; and it’s going to be called Women’s Digicel ExxonMobil Cup.
“We are starting with six teams. Next year it builds into a program and the year afterwards to become our female version and 2026, 2027… if the stars align, we are looking at the women’s Hunters Team,” said Hondina.
The PNG Rugby Football League is also aiming to field a women’s Hunters team in the Queensland Women’s Rugby League Competition by 2027, if the national women’s rugby league competition runs well.
The women’s team would partner the men’s team in the Queensland Rugby League competition as they push for a team in Australia’s National Rugby League Competition (NRL).
Meanwhile, Hondina said PNGRFL has also included women in officiating matches and touch judging and it looks forward to getting more women involved in the wider rugby league space.