Port Moresby, also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific outside of Australia and New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the south-western coast of the Papuan Peninsula of the island of New Guinea. The city emerged as a trade centre in the second half of the 19th century. During World War II, it was a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43 as a staging point and air base to cut off Australia from Southeast Asia and the Americas.
The Papua New Guinea men's national cricket team, nicknamed the Barramundis, is the team that represents the country of Papua New Guinea in international cricket. The team is organised by Cricket PNG, which has been an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1973. Papua New Guinea previously had One-Day International (ODI) status, which it gained by finishing fourth in 2014 World Cup Qualifier. Papua New Guinea lost both their ODI and T20I status in March 2018 after losing a playoff match against Nepal during the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, a result that earned ODI and T20I status for their opponents. On 26 April 2019, PNG defeated Oman to secure a top-four finish in the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two and reclaim their ODI status.
The Papua New Guinea national Australian rules football team represents Papua New Guinea in the team sport of Australian rules football. It is one of the nation's most successful sporting teams, currently ranked 2nd in the world behind Australia.
Australian rules football in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a developing team sport which was initially introduced by Australian servicemen during World War II. The governing body for the sport is the PNG Rules Football Council, with the development body being AFL PNG. The junior development version is known locally as Niukick. Regionally, AFL PNG is affiliated with AFL Oceania.
Sport in Papua New Guinea is an important part of the national culture. Rugby league is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea.
The 2015 Pacific Games, also known as Port Moresby 2015 or POM 2015, was held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, from 4 to 18 July 2015. It was the fifteenth staging of the Pacific Games as well as the third to be hosted in Port Moresby.
Hekari United, formerly known as POM Souths, Souths United, PRK Souths United and Hekari Souths United, is a professional soccer club formed in 2006, based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
Rapatona Football Club, formerly known as Inspac Rapatona FC, CMSS Rapatona Tigers FC, Moresby Casino Hotel and currently referred to as PKA Rapatona FC for sponsorship reasons, is a Papua New Guinean soccer club, based in Port Moresby and founded in 1982.
Nathaniel Lepani is a footballer from Papua New Guinea. Lepani plays as a forward for Panamex FC; he has represented Papua New Guinea national football team at international level on 12 occasions. Lepani has also played for Menlo Oaks in the US as well as several other clubs in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Michael Foster is a Papua New Guinean football player who plays as a midfielder for Hekari United, and for the Papua New Guinea national team.
The Papua New Guinea Hunters (PNG Hunters) are a professional rugby league football club based in Papua New Guinea. They were formed in December 2013 and compete in the Queensland Cup, a second tier competition in Australia. The Hunters are the second Papua New Guinean side to enter the Queensland Cup following the Port Moresby Vipers who competed for two seasons in 1996 and 1997. Every Hunters match is shown live on national free-to-air television. The Hunters' home ground is the National Football Stadium in Port Moresby and their team colours are red, black and gold. The Hunters won the Hostplus Cup in 2017.
The 2016 OFC Nations Cup was the tenth edition of the OFC Nations Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Oceania organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The tournament was played between 28 May and 11 June 2016 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The winner qualified for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia.
FC Port Moresby is a semi-professional soccer club based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Founded in 2012, the club competed three times in the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League until the league split in 2016. Their best result came in their debut season, 2013, when they finished as runners-up behind Hekari United, losing 3–0 in the Grand Final.
University Inter, founded as ANZ University and formerly known also as ICF University, and, simply, University, is the oldest known semi-professional club soccer club in Papua New Guinea, founded in 1969. It is the soccer club on the campus of the University of Papua New Guinea, based in Port Moresby.
PS Rutz, formerly PS United and recently known for sponsorship reasons as PS Huawei United, is a semi-professional soccer club founded in 1992 and based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
Yamaros FC, formerly known as Vats Yamaros or Vitis Yamaros for sponsorship reasons, is a semi-professional association football club based in Gerehu, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, founded around 2010.
Michelle Nayahamui Rooney has dual Papua New Guinean and Australian nationality. She is a research fellow at the Development Policy Centre of the Australian National University and publishes extensively on matters relating to Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Pacific islands.
Sir Charles Lepani is a former public servant and diplomat from Papua New Guinea. He was the country's high commissioner in Australia from 2005 to 2017 and, prior to that, had been its ambassador to both the European Union and several European countries.
