Thank you PNG for a successful tournament!

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Papua New Guinea would like to thank Papua New Guinea for hosting a hugely successful event.

Committee CEO Seamus Marten thanked the people for turning up in numbers to fill the stadiums as well as the communities who adopted each of the visiting teams.

“The visiting teams have taken away precious memories of their time in Papua New Guinea and as ambassadors for the country overseas,” stated Marten.

“The mutual respect and affection between the teams and the fans is something that we will all remember for a long time to come.”

He also thanked the PNG government for their backing, which will go a long way as part of infrastructure legacy for the country and for that, Papua New Guineans should be proud.

“I must also acknowledge the technical aspect of the support that went into ensuring that the infrastructure was ready on time for the tournament – it is a huge achievement to have the two mini stadiums,” said Marten.

 “I’d like to also acknowledge and thank our three national supporters: Telikom PNG, Air Niugini and PNG Power, who immensely contributed to the success of this tournament.”

He said there are many organisations and individuals who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes towards the successful delivery of this tournament.

“The overarching vision of the tournament was to inspire to excel, if through the tournament, we have inspired a generation of Papua New Guineans to take up football or look at the opportunities available then we’ve done our job.

“If we have inspired a woman to pick up a referee’s whistle to become a FIFA referee, then we’ve done our job. If we have inspired women to take up administration in football, then we’ve done our job,” Marten said.

The FIFA legacy programs; ‘Live Your Goals’ and ‘FIFA 11 for Health’, are here to stay and the national federation, PNG Football Association, will continue to spread the word of football through football development.

Marten also thanked the staff of the Local Organising Committee for their contributions in planning the delivery of the event.

Author: 
Press release