By HAIVETA KIVIA
PAPUA NEW GUINEA soccer is in search for more football talents to add to the women’s train-on squad for the Olympic qualifiers against New Zealand, next year.
These matches will be the most important fixtures on the Papua New Guinea Football (Soccer) Associations’ international calendar and it wants to field the best team possible against the Kiwis.
Papua New Guinea Football (Soccer) Association’s general secretary Dimirit Mileng said a trial match and fitness programme will be conducted by PNG coach Francis Moyap on Oct 26 at PNGFA Soccer Academy in Lae.
Mileng said the camp is to identify the best talents we have and put them through a training and fitness programme, getting them ready for the matches against the Kiwis.
Moyap will be assisted by Oceania Football Confederations’ Women Football development officer Connie Selby. Selby is based in New Zealand.
Mileng is urging all soccer associations in the Highlands and Momase regions to identify exceptional talented women in their competitions and send them to this training camp at soccer headquarters in Lae later this month. “Local associations are urged to identify at least five players to represent their associations,” he added.
However, there is a string attached to the invitation - the associations are to meet the travel costs of their players to Lae where the PNGFA will meet the accommodation and other expenses.
“The local association is responsible for the candidates travel to and from Lae and PNGFA will be responsible for accommodation,” said Mileng
He said the invitation is also being extended to the New Guinea Island if they have the finance to send players to the camp.”
He stressed that the players in the current women’s national team which won gold at the South Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa were not guaranteed a place and that they should also attend the training camp.
The Lae training camp in Lae will be held on Oct 26, and that the names of players must be sent to the PNGFA headquarters by Oct 22. The players are to arrive at the academy by no later than Oct 25.