Fuente: © FIFA (English)
http://www.fifa.com/

FIFA: National league boosts Papua New Guinea

/noticias.info/ Papua New Guinea's ambitious bid to become Oceania's premier footballing force has moved up a gear with the setting up of a semi-professional national league.

Their national team might currently languish in 177th position in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, having never won an OFC-sanctioned competition, but the Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA) are determined to challenge for regional supremacy and consider the National Soccer League (NSL) an important milestone.

Its motto, 'Kick Higher', sums up the determination that the NSL will lead to a raising of standards in domestic football, improve teams' style of play and hopefully in time attract players and coaches from overseas to enhance its development.

It is certainly amid some excitement that the NSL semi-finals are currently taking place, with these play-offs pitting TL Blue Kumuls against Gelle Hills, and AK Madang Fox against PRK Souths - the team with the best record to date. The Grand Final will be then played in Port Moresby, and the hope is that the passion and enthusiasm generated by these play-offs will prove to be infectious.

After all, at the moment, the league is comprised by just six teams - TL Blue Kumuls, Welgris Fuel Distributors Momads, AK Madang Fox, Petroleum Resources Kutubu, PRK Souths and Gele Hills - but the PNGFA are confident that more franchise clubs will be tempted into joining next season, taking the NSL deep into the nation's four main regions.

In promoting and marketing itself throughout the country, the NSL has also introduced a scholarship system that could see talented students turning out in the newly-formed league, while the PNGFA have also been supplying schools with new footballs, thanks to help from the OFC.

With the annual PNGFA Cup also due to kick off later this month, it is a busy time for everyone connected with the beautiful game in Papua New Guinea. The hope, however, is that all this hard work will help yield a flourishing domestic league and a successful national team capable of beginning that long climb up the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking.
notas_de_prensa_archivo