The Local Organising Committee (LOC) for this year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup met with the PNG Sports Foundation (PNGSF) last Friday to step up preparations for November.
The meeting was to discuss how the LOC will work with the venues team during the hosting of the World Cup.
CEO of the PNGSF, Peter Tsiamalili said there are only six months before the tournament and the constant dialogue with the LOC will ensure that his team brings the venues up to FIFA standard requirements.
“This is a partnership and we need to work together to deliver the tournament, so it’s really a collective effort,” said Tsiamalili.
CEO of the LOC, Seamus Marten said this is going to be the biggest sporting event that will ever be broadcasted from PNG.
“There’ll be over 124 million television viewers from 100 countries watching the tournament from Papua New Guinea and this is our opportunity to showcase PNG.
“There are people who doubt we can deliver the tournament but I can tell you that if there’s anywhere that can deliver a tournament at such limited time, it’s PNG,” said Marten.
The World Cup will be played at four different venues. Sixteen training sites have been identified and are being prepared for the 16 participating nations who will be competing.
It is estimated that 560 players and officials will be in the country for the event.
Five hotels in the city will be accommodating the players, including technical officials, during the tournament.
Meanwhile, the LOC will be using the Oceania Football Confederation Nations Cup in June in Port Moresby as a test event in preparation for the World Cup.
The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will be held from November 13 to December 3.