Rugby league is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea. Rugby league also holds the title as the national sport.[1] About 50% of the population under-20 play rugby league.[2] Since 2010, the sport has been a mandatory part of the curriculum in all schools in Papua New Guinea.[3]
In a nation where communities are far apart and many people live at a minimal subsistence level, rugby league has been described as a replacement for tribal warfare, as a way of explaining the local enthusiasm for the game (a matter of life and death).[citation needed]Port Moresby Governor Powes Parkop has described the role rugby league plays in bonding the nation's 800 disparate tribes and reducing crime, citing its "ability to impact positively on all walks of life in PNG".[3]
The annual Australian State of Origin matches are the most watched sporting event of the year.
Many Papua New Guineans have become instant celebrities by representing their country or playing in an overseas professional league. The West New Britain rugby league player, Marcus Bai, is a national celebrity after he formerly played for the National Rugby League with Melbourne Storm and David Mead who hails from the Central Province he currently plays for the Brisbane Broncos and is considered one of Papua New Guinea's all-time greatest players. Even Australian rugby league players who have played in the annual (Australian) State of Origin clash, which is celebrated feverishly every year in PNG, are among the best-known personalities throughout the nation.
The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team, known as the Kumuls, are ranked sixth in the world as of September 2023. The team usually plays against the Australian national rugby league team each year in Port Moresby. It is such a popular fixture, that thousands of people can't get into the ground once it's full, causing people to climb onto the stadium roof or up trees outside the ground in order to see the match. The limited capacity of the stadium for this fixture often sparks riots. Spectators clashed with riot police, during this fixture in 2006.
A national competition, which used to be called the SP Inter-City Cup but now the Digicel Cup, was initiated in 1990. In 2022 it featured twelve teams from throughout PNG.
Scenes of celebration as Papua New Guinea are crowned International Australian Rules Football champions after defeating New Zealand in the 2008 Australian Football International Cup Grand Final.
AFL-PNG is the governing body of the sport in Papua New Guinea.
Cricket
Cricket has been traditionally most popular in Papua region, where the British had the most influence.
On 8 November 2014 Papua New Guinea created history by beating Hong Kong in its first one-day international match after getting full one-day international status.
In the 2013-14 World Twenty:20 Championship, the national team, known as the Papua New Guinea Barramundis, won the East Asia-Pacific qualifying zone competition in February 2013, beating Vanuatu in the final. In the world qualifying competition in November 2013, PNG beat Kenya and the Netherlands (both significantly higher-ranked countries), but lost to tournament second-favourites Afghanistan and to Nepal and finished eighth (giving the country an implicit world Twenty20 ranking of 18th).
In January 2011, PNG finished second in World Cricket League Division 3, winning promotion to Division 2. In April they finished third in Division 2 after wins over Bermuda, Hong Kong, and Uganda. Thereby PNG ranks 19th in the world at 50-overs-a-side one-day cricket. In August 2012, PNG beat Test-playing country Zimbabwe to finish 14th in the under-19 World Cup.
In October 2019 Papua New Guinea qualified for the 2020 ICC T20 World Cup, after they won Group A of the qualifier tournament, finishing above the Netherlands on net run rate.[4] It was the first time Papua New Guinea had qualified for a World Cup in any format.[5]
Cricket is organised by the Papua New Guinea Cricket Board of Control, headquartered in Port Moresby.
The principal national competitions for men are the T20 Hebou Shield contest, played in April and May, and the 50-overs Hebou Shield played in May and June, competed for by six teams: a Colts team, and five organised on an "area of origin" basis - Northern Diggers, Western Hammers, Central Hearts, Southern Jets, and Central Lagoon Marlins. Each team also bears a sponsor's name.
In 2013, Hebou Western Hammers won the 50-over competition, beating BSP Central Hearts in the final. Hebou Western also won the T20 league.
The women's Hebou Shields, for 35 overs and for 20 overs leagues, were both won by Dulux Magic.
In the Trobriand Islands, cricket was introduced in 1903, by Methodist missionaries, and has become a beloved sport. Cricket has become fused with the local culture, and the game is played with stones instead of a ball and unlimited fielders.
Papua New Guinea is a three tier rugby union playing nation. They began playing international rugby union in 1966, and have yet to make the Rugby World Cup. Teams from Papua New Guinea have competed in the Commonwealth Games.
There are currently 8,520 registered players and 57 clubs. There are no registered senior female players.
The national side is ranked 54th in the world (as of December 1, 2006).
Soccer is also played in Papua New Guinea. The governing body for the sport in the country is the Papua New Guinea Football Association which was established in 1962. Approximately 20,000 people play soccer in Papua New Guinea and it is considered to be a popular sport for men and the single most popular sport for females.
The national team are currently 166th in the . The country's highest ranking was 160th in June 2004.[8] Former Australian coach Frank Farina is the current coach of the national side.
Formed in 2006, the PNG Telikom National Soccer League is the top division of Football in Papua New Guinea. The league comprises 8 semi-professional teams from across the country.
Hekari United from Port Moresby are the most successful club having won the domestic league every year since its inception and the 2009–10 OFC Champions League, which made Hekari United the first club outside Australia and New Zealand to win the tournament. It was also the first squad from the South Pacific to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup.[9]
Basketball
Basketball is a popular sport in Papua New Guinea, especially among the youth. Many of the country's top professional players play in Australia.
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 national rugby league team represents Papua New Guinea in the sport of rugby league football.
The culture of Papua New Guinea is complex and multifaceted. It is estimated that more than 7000 different cultural groups exist in Papua New Guinea, and most groups have their own language. Because of this diversity, in which they take pride, many different styles of cultural expression have emerged; each group has created its own expressive forms in art, dance, weaponry, costumes, singing, music, architecture and much more. To unify the nation, the language Tok Pisin, once called Neo-Melanesian has evolved as the lingua franca — the medium through which diverse language groups are able to communicate with one another in Parliament, in the news media, and elsewhere. People typically live in villages or dispersed hamlets which rely on the subsistence farming of yams and taro. The principal livestock in traditional Papua New Guinea is the oceanic pig.
Rugby league is a popular team sport in Papua New Guinea, and is the national sport. Papua New Guinea has a reputation for being the most passionate supporter of the game in the world.
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, Papua New Guinea defeated Oman to secure a top-four finish in the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two and reclaim their ODI status.
PNG Football Stadium, known by the sponsored name of Santos National Football Stadium and previously as Lloyd Robson Oval until 2015, is a sporting ground in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. It hosted three games for the 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup. It has been the home ground for the Papua New Guinea national rugby league team since 1975. It has a total capacity of approximately 15,000 and is the National Stadium of Papua New Guinea. The stadium was completely redeveloped in preparation for the 2015 Pacific Games.
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 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. Cricket is another popular sport throughout the Oceania region.
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 footballer who plays as a midfielder for Hekari United and the Papua New Guinea national team.
The 2013 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League season, known as the Telikom NSL Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the seventh edition of Papua New Guinea National Soccer League.
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.
Asadollah Vala is a Papua New Guinea cricketer and the captain of the national side. A left-handed batsman and off spin bowler, he has played for the Papua New Guinea national team since 2005.
Garry Lo is a Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer who plays for the Waghi Tumbe in the Digicel Cup. Lo plays as a winger. He is also a Papua New Guinea international.
Tommy Semmy is a Papua New Guinean soccer player who plays as a striker for National Premier Leagues Victoria club Melbourne Knights and the Papua New Guinea national team.
The 2007–08 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League season, known as the Telikom NSL Cup for sponsorship purposes, was the second 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.
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister's XIII, or sometimes informally referred to as the PNG PM's XIII, is the name of a representative rugby league team, comprising Papua New Guinean players from the Papua New Guinea National Rugby League, PNG Hunters and other overseas clubs. The team is selected to play an annual fixture against Australian Prime Minister's XIII in Papua New Guinea in the final weeks of the rugby league season.
The 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier was the tournament played in Fiji and Philippines as part of qualification process for the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup.
The Port Moresby Australian Football League is the longest running Australian rules football league outside of Australia, founded in 1955. It is Papua New Guinea's most popular league in the sport and for a time in the 1970s shared similar prominence to the Port Moresby Rugby League competition playing to large paying crowds at Hubert Murray Stadium.
References
1 2 "PNG vow to upset World Cup odds". Rugby League. BBC. 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2009-07-03. But it would still be one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history if Papua New Guinea - the only country to have Rugby League as its national Sport - were to qualify for the last 4.
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