Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA)

The U15 Girls squad is gearing up for the UEFA Girls Development Tournament in Lautoka, Fiji, set to kick off in May 2024.

Meanwhile, the U16 Boys team is set to compete in the qualifying tournament held in Tonga from April 13 to April 19, 2024. This tournament is a gateway to the championship in Tahiti, slated from August 28 to September 10, 2024.

The victorious team from the championship will proudly join other island nations including New Zealand, Vanuatu, Fiji, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Cook Islands, and Samoa in Papeete. 

In a media release, the Secretariat expressed that the PNG Football Association (PNGFA) was falsely accused on social media of getting two Port Moresby-based teams to qualify for the OFC national playoffs.

“There was no foul play involved as claimed by football enthusiasts on social media. The two Lae-based teams - Lae City Dwellers and Lae City FC were unfortunate, (missing) out of the cut-off mark and were placed third and fourth on the competition respectively,” it stated.

PNGFA president John Kapi Natto wants to help improve the situation and is urging participating teams to take ownership of the Women’s Soccer League initiative, so the Women’s Football can grow.

Although the WNSL concluded its second year since its inception in 2022, the Soccer League is yet to attract followers to the event. This was evident in the grand final match yesterday at the PNG Football Stadium in Port Moresby.

This unexpected development has raised eyebrows across the football community.

Both the Papua New Guinea Football Federation (PNGFA) and the Football Federation Samoa (FFS) will face scrutiny from the OFC Ethics and Disciplinary Committee in accordance with the rules outlined in the OFC-U16 Women’s Championship regulations. Their reasons for withdrawal will be closely examined.

When responding to media speculation that PNG’s participation in the FIFA sanctioned tournaments would be terminated because of not making it on time for its match in New Zealand and possibly missing out entirely on the tournament, PNGFA president John Kapi Natto said, the PNG’s participation won’t be terminated.

He said there are definitely going to be penalties for not turning up at the tournament on time and it’s up to FIFA to make the decision. However, Kapi Natto stated that there is no way PNG’s participation in the FIFA tournaments will be terminated.

The Football Club have established contacts with clubs in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. Which are the possible destination for players coming out from Komara Football Development Academy Program that has started this year.

“We have established contacts overseas and are already in the process of sending one of our young NPL players to Europe to trial. This opportunity is a dream that will be realized,” said team manager, Tokaravu Digi.

All the interested teams must register ahead of May 28^th because the calendar of the 2023 Soccer season is set. There will be three conferences this season. The women Conference Soccer League (WCSL), The National Priemer League (Men), and the National Youth League.

The first of the three is the Women Conference Soccer League. The Three Conferences; Southern, and NGI Eastern have six teams each who have expressed their interest to participate in the season while Northern has one more team to complete the formalities.

A masterclass performance by the resurgent young Hekari United FC delivered two unanswered goals in the last quarter of yesterday’s final leg of the OFC National League Play-off against an equally strong, Lae City FC beating them 2-0 to qualify for the 8-nation OFC Champions League in in May.

Hekari's midfielder Yagi Yagasa was like man possed staring in both home and away play offs in Lae and Port Moresby.

Yesterday’s big decider was a thriller that kept the fans guessing when the both teams were left scoreless at halftime.

Opportunities for women to develop fulfil pillars of the ALL IN: OFC Women’s Football Strategy 2027 such as increasing the capacity and capability of girls and women in football, raising the awareness of possibilities and improving gender equality.

Head of PNGFA Refereeing, Jimmy Warai said the ongoing efforts from the association have seen a dramatic increase over the past three years with close to 160 active female referees in the country.

He had recruited from the two centres and this beefed up his option to use against any team during the competition including the semifinals and final.Komeng said that Hekari’s valuable buy, Calista Maneo was the find of the WNSL tournament this season. He said she has tormented the opposition defense, and will continue to do that against the semi-final first match against NCD FC today.