Athletics, basketball, boxing and Va’a are the first four national sporting federations granted financial support.
The PNG Olympic Committee (PNGOC) recently announced the first batch of funding support to these federations under Team PNG Performance Strategy.
With just under two years to the Solomon Islands 2023 Pacific Games, athletes, teams and their coaches are already preparing to ensure they are at peak level come the opening ceremony on 19th November 2023.
This initial funding support has been provided to support national federations to stage their national domestic competitions that are in line with their selection process and selection criteria’s.
Athletics, Basketball, Boxing and Va’a are the first NFs to benefit under Team PNG’s Performance Strategy, which includes providing equipment-funding support.
Funding for the Team PNG Performance Strategy implementation was made possible through Kumul Consolidated Holdings (KCH) sponsorship received this year.
In announcing and congratulating the four NFs, PNGOC Secretary General, Auvita Rapilla commended the four sports for being organised and compliant by providing all the required documentations and information as part of PNGOC’s Resource Allocation Policy that “has raised the bar of NFs in terms of governance and accountability practices.
Rapilla encouraged the national federations to work closely with the team at the Secretariat to finalise their high performance plans and sport specific selection criteria’s to access the funding that has been made available through KCH.
The Team PNG Performance Strategy also captures PNG’s representation at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, 2023 Solomon Islands Pacific Games and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
“Preparations at the elite level is a continuous effort and we are grateful that this partnership will enable us to assist athletes to bring success to the country and inspire more Papua New Guineans to pursue their dreams,” said Rapilla.
“We encourage all other sports to submit their Performance plans, budgets and selection criteria’s so our athletes can get the required support and preparations for the upcoming Games. The challenges of COVID-19 are ongoing and we encourage National Federations to improvise and prepare their athletes and teams the best they can under the current circumstances.”
Athletics PNG was one of the NFs to receive this funding support that saw them stage their Grand Prix recently and followed by the National Championships from 3-5th December in Kimbe, West New Britain.
Athletics PNG President, Tony Green thanked PNGOC and KCH for the assistance provided under Team PNG’s Performance Strategy.
2022 will see Team PNG participate in two international Games back to back, the Pacific Mini-Games in Saipan, Northern Marinas from 17-25th June and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK from 27th July to 7th August. The Solomon Islands 2023 Pacific Games will take place from 19 November to 2 December 2023.
The PNGOC is grateful to KCH Board and Management for recognising the importance and long-term benefits of the Team PNG Performance Strategy, which focuses on specific sport and athlete development.