Work on the 17 training fields and four match venues for the U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup remains the number one priority for the National Government.
This was highlighted by the executive director of the PNG Sports Foundation, Peter Tsiamalili, during a workshop held by the Local Organising Committee (LOC) last week.
He said there will be four training fields at Bisini, one at Sir John Guise stadium, two at Murray Barracks, two at the University of Papua New Guinea, two at the Institute of Public Administration, two at Gerehu Secondary School, one at Gordon’s Secondary School, two at Port Moresby National High School and one at the Port Moresby International School.
“The government’s part is to put the infrastructure in place so that the LOC can do the overlay.
“So we prepare the pitch and they will come and make sure that the pitch and the training field is in compliance to what the requirements of the individual teams are,” said Tsiamalili.
Tsiamalili went on to explain to the training venue owners how far the preparation has gone and what to expect on their respective fields.
“They’ve excavated the top soil and they’ve put drenches in. There will be proper drainage and proper irrigation system.
“They will not be pop-up sprinklers but you will have proper irrigation set up that is to FIFA specifications so you can host any field event and that’s the bonus that you have,” said Tsiamalili.
He said the seeding of those fields will start in the first week of August as most of the fields have now got water tanks.
“Once that is done, there will be a maintenance schedule that will be developed by our team and obviously be handed to your team so that there is smooth transition and understanding of how to manage the fields. So in a nutshell, we will have fields that will be of FIFA standard,” he said.