Visa issues for sporting teams have been majorly a result of poor administration and management by individual sporting bodies over the years.
Sports Minister Justin Tkatchenko says this issue must be recognised for sports going forward.
This comes after Papua New Guinea withdrew from the second leg of the OFC Women’s Olympic Qualifier which was scheduled for today (Tuesday 26 January) due to visa issues.
The squad did not receive the required visas to enter New Zealand for the return match.
Tkatchenko said it is time now for proper procedures and processes to be put in place for sports travel.
“This will ensure that the management of sports travel is centralized through the sports ministry.
“This way, the Sports Ministry through the PNG Sports Foundation is working closely with the bodies and codes, and can assist where it needs to immediately,” said Tkatchenko.
While there are avenues for agreements with Australia and New Zealand for Sports Travel, the Administration and Management of this process internally must firstly be priority for PNG Sports.
Caption: PNG U15 womens team at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China