| Soccer in Papua New Guinea | |
|---|---|
| Country | Papua New Guinea |
| Governing body | Papua New Guinea Football Association |
| National team(s) | men's national team women's national team national futsal team |
Club competitions | |
International competitions | |
The sport of soccer in the country of Papua New Guinea is run by the Papua New Guinea Football Association. [1] The association has been affiliated with FIFA and the Oceania Football Confederation since 1966. The association administers national soccer and futsal teams, as well as the national league. Soccer is a popular sport in Papua New Guinea.
In 2016 PNG hosted the U-20 Women's World Cup.
Level | League(s)/Division(s) | |||||
1 | Papua New Guinea National Soccer League 14 clubs in 4 regional conferences | |||||
Top clubs from PNG participate in the Oceania Champions League.
In the 2009-10 season, Hekari United won that competition and went on to represent Oceania at the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup.
Women's soccer is a minority pursuit in the country. [2]
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It promotes the game in Oceania and allows the member nations to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
The Papua New Guinea national soccer team is the men's national soccer team of Papua New Guinea and is controlled by the Papua New Guinea Football Association. Its nickname is the Kapuls, which is Tok Pisin for Cuscus.
The Papua New Guinea Football Association, PNGFA is the governing body of soccer in Papua New Guinea.
The Papua New Guinea women's national soccer team is controlled by the Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA). Its nickname is the Lakatois, which is a Motuan sailing vessel. Their home ground is the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, located in Port Moresby and their current manager is Peter Gunemba. Deslyn Siniu is the team's most capped player and top scorer.
The Solomon Islands women's national football team represents Solomon Islands in international women's association football. The team is controlled by the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) and is affiliated to the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). Their current head coach is the former footballer Timothy Inifiri.
Sport in Papua New Guinea is an important part of the national culture. Rugby league is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea.
Rosemary Eleanor Florence White is a New Zealand footballer who last played as a midfielder for OL Reign in the National Women's Soccer League and the New Zealand national team.
Sport in Oceania varies from country to country. The most popular playing sport for men in Australia is Australian rules football, while for women is netball. Australian rules football is the most popular sport in terms of spectatorship and television ratings. Rugby union is the most popular sport among New Zealanders, while in Papua New Guinea rugby league is the most popular. While, Cricket is the most popular overall sport in Oceania.
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.
David Muta is a Papua New Guinean footballer who plays as a midfielder for and captains Hekari United and the Papua New Guinea national team.
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.
The 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the 8th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was held in Papua New Guinea from 13 November to 3 December 2016. This was the first FIFA tournament held in the country, the first FIFA tournament held in Melanesia, and the first FIFA association football tournament in Oceania to take place outside Australasia.
The Sir Ignatius Kilage Sports Stadium is an association football stadium located in Lae, Papua New Guinea. It was named after Sir Ignatius Kilage who was the fourth Governor General of Papua New Guinea. The stadium, which is part of the larger Sir Ignatius Kilage Sports Complex, features 500 grandstand seats plus an additional 1,000 bench seats. It is the home stadium of the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League Southern Conference.
Alwin Komolong is a Papua New Guinean footballer who plays for Lae City of the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League, and for the Papua New Guinea national football team. Alwin and his brother Felix have been called one of the strongest central defensive pairings in their region.
David Eric Browne is a Papua New Guinean professional footballer who plays as a forward or a midfielder for the Papua New Guinea national team. He is the first Papua New Guinean footballer to play professionally in Europe. Besides New Zealand, he has played in the Netherlands and Finland.
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.
Morobe Wawens are a professional soccer club founded in late 2017 and based in Morobe, Papua New Guinea.
Vitiaz United FC was a semi-professional soccer club based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, apparently founded sometime in 2013.
Yvonne Gabong is a Papua New Guinean footballer who plays as a midfielder and is co-captain of the Papua New Guinea women's national team. She is also the skipper of FC Genesis.
Margaret Aka is a soccer player and coach from Papua New Guinea. She is the first woman in Papua New Guinea — and the first in the world outside of New Zealand — to receive an Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) B License in coaching. The first woman in Papua New Guinea to coach a male league team, she is also only the third to do so worldwide.
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