Sobou F.C.

Last updated
Sobou FC
Sobou F.C. logo.png
Full nameSobou FC
Founded1980s
Ground Lae Stadium
Lae, Papua New Guinea
League National Club Championship

Sobou FC, previously known for sponsorship reasons as Cellnet Sobou and Telikom Sobou, is an amateur association football team based in Lae, Papua New Guinea. The club appears to have been in existence since the 1980s. [1]

Contents

The club is domestically one of the most successful in Papua New Guinean football history, having won five National Club Championship titles consecutively from 2001 to 2005, [2] a domestic record they share with University. The club also took part in two editions of the OFC Champions League, but were unable to register any points.

Since the introduction of the National Soccer League in 2006, the club has retained its amateur status and taken part predominantly in regional competitions.

History

Early years

Not much is known about the foundation of the club, but the first records of their competitive history come from 1985, when the club were declared runners-up of the Lae Regional League. [1]

Sometime in the early 1990s, the club joined the new Lahi Regional League, and went on to win the competition three times consecutively in 1994, 1995 and 1996. [3]

Further records begin in 1997, when the club took part in that year's Papua New Guinea National Club Championship, the biggest domestic competition in the country at that time. The club did not finish in the top four. [4]

In 1998, the club won their fourth regional title, defeating Guria Lahi 4–2 in the Grand Final. [3] This ought to have qualified them for the 1999 National Club Championship, but for unknown reasons, they did not take part. [5] They did, however, pick up a fifth regional title, defeating Guria Lahi on penalties in that year's Grand Final. [5]

In 2000, the club took part in their second National Club Championship, finishing fourth. [6] A further regional title followed later in the year, before the club began to fully dominate domestically for much of the early 2000s.

National dominance and continental qualification

Despite coming second regionally, they picked up their first National Club Championship on 11 November 2001, defeating four-time champions University 3–0 in the Grand Final. [7] The following year they completed a national and domestic double, defeating PS United in the National Club Championship and Unitech in the regional final. [8]

In 2003, the team faced Unitech in both the national and regional finals: on 16 September 2003, the side defeated Unitech 1–0 to claim the national title for the third successive season; just over a month later, they were on the wrong end of a 2–0 defeat to surrender the regional title to their rivals. [9] In 2004, they repeated their feat from 2002, picking up the national title over HC West and the regional title against Bismarck FC. [10]

Their 2004 victory qualified them for the 2005 OFC Club Championship, a competition that would eventually become the OFC Champions League. After defeating Samoan side Tuinaimato Breeze 7–0 on aggregate in the preliminary round, [11] the club went on to lose all three games in the group stage, conceding 20 goals and scoring just four. [11] Their final national title came in 2005, with a 4–2 victory over Cosmos, [12] while regional they finished as runners-up once again.

The club's performance in the 2006 OFC Club Championship wasn't much better than their previous attempt. The club qualified for the competition directly, but lost all three of their group games, scoring once and conceding 21 goals. [13] [14] [15] Domestically, the side came second regionally while reaching the 2006 National Club Championship final, where they faced four-time champions University, whose record they had surpassed the previous season after winning their fifth title. On 9 July 2006, University equalled Sobou's new record with a victory on penalties after a 0–0 draw in normal time. [16]

Decline and return to regional competition

In 2007, the club took part in one of the regional competitions intended to be a feeder for the 2007 National Club Championship. Although the national competition didn't materialise, the Momase regional did take place, but Sobou were unable to make an impact on the competition. [17] They did, however, clinch their ninth regional title with a 2–1 victory over Sogeram on 27 October 2007. [17] In 2008, Sobou won the Momase Regional Championship and qualified for the National Club Championship, but did not reach the final. [18] They finished second in the Lahi Regional League that year.

Following the suspension of the Lahi FA in 2009, [19] the club's records go dark until 2018, when the club reached the final of the Lahi Regional League before losing on penalties to Consort United. [20]

In 2019, the club was one of the teams that took part in the relaunched Momase Regional Championship, bidding to become the region's representative at the renewed National Club Championships later in the year. [21] [22]

Honours

Continental competitions

National competitions

Regional competitions

Related Research Articles

The Papua New Guinea National Club Championship is the top amateur division of soccer in Papua New Guinea. It is a nationwide league and was probably founded in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hekari United F.C.</span> Football club

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morobe United F.C.</span> Papua New Guinea football club

Morobe United FC, formerly known as Blue Kumuls (1970s–2005), Shorncliffe Blue Kumuls (2005), Tuguba Laitepo Blue Kumuls (2006), Morobe Kumuls FC (2007), Gigira Laitepo Morobe FC, Gigira Laitepo Central Coast FC (2011–12), and Welgris Morobe United FC, are a Papua New Guinea professional soccer club founded in the 1970s and based in Lae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapatona F.C.</span> Football club

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welgris Highlanders F.C.</span> Football club

Welgris Highlanders, formerly known as Welgris Momads, was a semi-professional Papua New Guinean soccer club based in Mount Hagen, but playing their home games in Goroka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madang F.C.</span> Football club

Madang Football Club, formerly known as Madang Flying Fox, Madang Niupetro Fox or simply Madang Fox, was a Papua New Guinea soccer club, based in Madang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papua New Guinea National Soccer League</span> Association football league in Papua New Guinea

The KPHL National Soccer League, also known as the Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited National Soccer League for sponsorship reasons, is the men's top division of professional soccer in Papua New Guinea. It is a nationwide league formed in 2006 by Papua New Guinea Football Association.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lae City F.C.</span> Football club

Lae City FC, formerly known as Lae City Dwellers FC or Toti City FC, is a professional soccer club founded in 2014 and based in Lae, Papua New Guinea. The side currently plays in the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, the highest level of soccer competition in PNG.

The 2015–16 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League season, known as the Telikom NSL Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the tenth edition of the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League.

Nigel Dabinyaba, sometimes spelt Nigel Dabingyaba, is a Papua New Guinean footballer who plays as a forward for Lae City FC in the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, as well as the Papua New Guinea national team. Besides Papua New Guinea, he has played in New Zealand and Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unitech F.C.</span> Football club

Unitech FC, known in the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League as Tukoko University Lae FC, is a semi-professional soccer club based in Lae, Papua New Guinea. The club was founded in around 1994. It is the football club on the campus of the Papua New Guinea University of Technology.

The 2018 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League was the 12th edition of Papua New Guinea National Soccer League. The league ran from 13 January to 26 May 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University Inter F.C.</span> Football club

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">F.C. Morobe Wawens</span> Association football club based in Morobe, PNG

Morobe Wawens are a professional soccer club founded in late 2017 and based in Morobe, Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PS Rutz</span> Association football club

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf Komara F.C.</span> Association football club based in Papua New Guinea

Komara Gulf F.C., currently known for as PRK Komara Gulf for sponsorship reasons, and formerly as Erema Gulf F.C., is a professional soccer club representing the Gulf Province in Papua New Guinea.

FC Momase, formerly known as Meril Momase, is a semi-professional association football club based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, and founded sometime before 1984.

The 2019–20 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, for sponsorship reasons also known as the Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited National Soccer League, was the 14th edition of the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, the top-tier soccer league in Papua New Guinea. The league began on 14 December 2019, after being postponed three times due to late registration fees, and finished on 10 October 2020, after almost a five-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2022 OFC Champions League was the 21st edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 16th season under the current OFC Champions League name.

References

  1. 1 2 "Papua New Guinea 1985". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  2. ↑ "Papua New Guinea - List of Champions". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  3. 1 2 "Papua New Guinea 1998". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  4. ↑ "Papua New Guinea 1997". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  5. 1 2 "Papua New Guinea 1999". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  6. ↑ "Papua New Guinea 2000". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  7. ↑ "Papua New Guinea 2001". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  8. ↑ "Papua New Guinea 2002". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  9. ↑ "Papua New Guinea 2003". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  10. ↑ "Papua New Guinea 2004". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  11. 1 2 "Oceania Club Competitions 2005". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  12. ↑ "PAPUA NEW GUINEA – SOBOU BOOK PLACE AT OFC CHAMPS". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  13. ↑ "Oceania Club Competitions 2006". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  14. ↑ "OFC – AUCKLAND CITY OFF TO WINNING START". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  15. ↑ "OFC – AUCKLAND CITY FIRST TO SEMIS". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  16. ↑ "Papua New Guinea 2006". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  17. 1 2 "Papua New Guinea 2007". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  18. ↑ "Papua New Guinea 2008". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  19. ↑ "Papua New Guinea 2009". RSSSF . Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  20. ↑ "United edge Sobou in Lahi penalty shootout". The National. 2018-11-12. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  21. ↑ "Lahi soccer to oversee regional tournament". The National. 2019-06-17. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  22. ↑ "Momase regional club challenge gets underway". Post Courier. 2019-08-02. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.