Day -461. WorldCup2018
On March 23rd before Argentina play Chile in a qualifier which will be hugely important in determining each team's chances of making it to Russia, Papua New Guinea play their first match in round 3 of Oceania qualifying against Tahiti. PNG and Tahiti don't have quite the same odds of qualifying as the South American giants, not because they are minnows in the football world but because Oceania as a region doesn't have the same strength as South America. Out of the 10 South American teams, 4 qualify directly and the 5th goes into an Intercontinental play-off against the winner of the Oceania qualifying. One team out of the 11 that started qualifying in Oceania make it through to the right to play for a place against the 5th team in South America.
Despite these very short odds of playing in Russia, PNG and Tahiti know, just like Argentina and Chile, that a win is a must. Or at least it would be a lot better than a draw.
PNG football has been going through a bit of a rough patch recently. The one bit of good news is a new dual citizenship law that was recently enacted by the government. The PNG Football Association welcomed the news as it allows for players of PNG descent, residing in, and citizens of, other countries, to obtain PNG citizenship and play for PNG. Four players, two living in New Zealand and the other two in Australia, have expressed an interest in taking up citizenship of PNG and it is hoped this would happen in time for them to play in the upcoming qualifiers.
The not so good news is the formation of a breakaway football body in PNG. John Kapi Natto, the owner of PNG's most successful club, Hekari United FC, made allegations of corruption within the PNG FA. The FA responded by filing a complaint with the Ocenia Football Confederation over his derogatory comments. Hekari were subsequently banned from competing in this year's OFC Champions League.
Mr. Kapi Natto received the support of 12 club presidents and is now in the process of setting up a new breakaway league, under the banner of the Football Federation PNG. The first competition for the new federation will be a 7-a-side tournament consisting of a North and South conference with 6 teams in each. This will be the precursor to the new National Premier League.
While the coach of the national team, Flemming Serritslev, may be welcoming four new players to his team he also has to deal with the loss of all nine players from Hekari. The players said they did this after the team was withdrawn from the league run by the PNG FA and to show their disapproval with the way the FA was running football in the country. They also mentioned in their statement that it was not because "our sponsors John and Vonnie Kapi Natto told us to." It would be naive not to think that there are commercial interests which may be playing a part here.
I could look up the PNG FA's website to see what the official stance may be, but I can't. Any attempt to access their website is blocked on my computer and phone, as it is a "security risk" and has been "blocked to protect my privacy." The new federation does not have website that I can find yet.
With World Cup dreams at stake there is always the wish and hope that a compromise can be found for the good of football in PNG. As small as the chances may be for them to make it to Russia, winning one match at a time will get them a step closer. And then the hope can grow.
On March 23rd before Argentina play Chile in a qualifier which will be hugely important in determining each team's chances of making it to Russia, Papua New Guinea play their first match in round 3 of Oceania qualifying against Tahiti. PNG and Tahiti don't have quite the same odds of qualifying as the South American giants, not because they are minnows in the football world but because Oceania as a region doesn't have the same strength as South America. Out of the 10 South American teams, 4 qualify directly and the 5th goes into an Intercontinental play-off against the winner of the Oceania qualifying. One team out of the 11 that started qualifying in Oceania make it through to the right to play for a place against the 5th team in South America.
Despite these very short odds of playing in Russia, PNG and Tahiti know, just like Argentina and Chile, that a win is a must. Or at least it would be a lot better than a draw.
PNG football has been going through a bit of a rough patch recently. The one bit of good news is a new dual citizenship law that was recently enacted by the government. The PNG Football Association welcomed the news as it allows for players of PNG descent, residing in, and citizens of, other countries, to obtain PNG citizenship and play for PNG. Four players, two living in New Zealand and the other two in Australia, have expressed an interest in taking up citizenship of PNG and it is hoped this would happen in time for them to play in the upcoming qualifiers.
The not so good news is the formation of a breakaway football body in PNG. John Kapi Natto, the owner of PNG's most successful club, Hekari United FC, made allegations of corruption within the PNG FA. The FA responded by filing a complaint with the Ocenia Football Confederation over his derogatory comments. Hekari were subsequently banned from competing in this year's OFC Champions League.
Mr. Kapi Natto received the support of 12 club presidents and is now in the process of setting up a new breakaway league, under the banner of the Football Federation PNG. The first competition for the new federation will be a 7-a-side tournament consisting of a North and South conference with 6 teams in each. This will be the precursor to the new National Premier League.
While the coach of the national team, Flemming Serritslev, may be welcoming four new players to his team he also has to deal with the loss of all nine players from Hekari. The players said they did this after the team was withdrawn from the league run by the PNG FA and to show their disapproval with the way the FA was running football in the country. They also mentioned in their statement that it was not because "our sponsors John and Vonnie Kapi Natto told us to." It would be naive not to think that there are commercial interests which may be playing a part here.
I could look up the PNG FA's website to see what the official stance may be, but I can't. Any attempt to access their website is blocked on my computer and phone, as it is a "security risk" and has been "blocked to protect my privacy." The new federation does not have website that I can find yet.
With World Cup dreams at stake there is always the wish and hope that a compromise can be found for the good of football in PNG. As small as the chances may be for them to make it to Russia, winning one match at a time will get them a step closer. And then the hope can grow.
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