Ready for the Kiwis
By HENRY MORABANG
PAPUA New Guinea women’s soccer team has been urged to give their best shot at New Zealand in the upcoming Olympic Games qualifying soccer tournament on Saturday in Port Moresby.
Sports Minister and Women’s Soccer patron Dame Carol Kidu visited the team yesterday at Telikom Park and urged them to consolidate against their much taller, experienced New Zealand opponents.
“Our aim is to win, PNG must be proud to come this far to the qualifying tournament by winning the gold medal at the South Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa, last year,” she said.
Dame Carol, who is also the member of FIFA Committee on Social Responsibility, will welcome the New Zealand team when they arrive in Port Moresby tomorrow, and she has urged the PNG public to get behind PNG on Saturday in their bid to qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games by beating the Kiwis.
“Everyone who has nothing to do on Saturday must turn up at Lloyd Robson Oval to support the women’s team,” she said.
The Sports Minister said this was the only opportunity for PNG and a team sport to qualify for the Olympic Games – the most premier event on the globe apart from the Soccer World Cup.
PNG women’s soccer captain Julie Alau thanked Dame Carol for her encouraging words, saying they had boosted the team’s morale for the Saturday encounter.
At the same time Dame Carol appealed to her colleague Finance Minister Patrick Pruaitch to honour his commitment to make available K20,000 to the PNG women’s football team.
She said the team needed the money to organise this weekend’s on and off-field activities.
The Minister also commended PNG Football Association for lobbying hard to bring the qualifier match to Port Moresby. He acknowledged the good work done by PNGFA president David Chung and his executive.
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