By HENRY MORABANG
A WOMAN leader in East New Britain province has urged corporate sponsors and the national government to support sports at junior level if Papua New Guinea wants the reap the benefits in future international events.
Bungtabu Brown of East New Britain-based Warangoi Properties Limited said this yesterday in Port Moresby, adding that she feels more comfortable supporting juniors sports (players) as they are still growing and learning.
“It is an investment for a better Papua New Guinea,” Brown said after WPL, her family company, chipped in substantial amount of money to send two soccer teams from Kokopo School Soccer to take part in the Australia National Futsal tournament in Canberra next week.
She said that the way to go for sponsors was to start from junior level and not supporting sports at senior level.
She said her company and Tropical Island Plant (TIP) had been backing sports junior development programme in East New Britain. WPL also supported the PNG Under 20 basketball championships held in the province last year.
Brown said that she as a sponsor prefers to support a regional junior team rather than a national team which will have one representative from all the province.
“It may look one way but one player cannot make a difference after returning from the trip, it’s just like a drop in the ocean,” she said.
Brown said her company will continue to support soccer, basketball and any other junior sports programmes in the Kokopo area.
She urged other business houses in Kokopo and also the national government to sponsors sports at such level instead of sponsoring senior footballers.
After Canberra tournament, Kokopo is planning to send a team to OFC U12 tournament in Noumea, New Caledonia and Brown said she hopes that other company from Kokopo would assist to send the team to New Caledonia.
“We are just happy to support these kids because it’s more rewarding to sponsor them at this level than at the senior level. I hope to see some of these boys representing PNG in soccer in future,” she said.