By HENRY MORABANG
TELIKOM in partnership with the semi professional soccer competition, the National Soccer League (NSL), wants to take the game into a new height.
To reaffirm its partnership agreement, Telikom through its acting chief executive officer Peter Loko have announced an initial K80,000 for 2007-2008 season.
Loko said yesterday he was pleasantly surprised that the competition was being played around the country - in four major soccer centres Port Moresby, Lae, Madang and Goroka.
“Telikom is pleased to announce the sponsorship of K80,000 but would further extend the sponsorship for next year and so forth,” he said.
The acting CEO said Telikom PNG was building the country through telecommunication and also through sports.
The NSL chairman, John Kapi Natto, said sponsorship was a special occasion for semi professional competition in the country. It was pioneered by the PNG Football Association with only five teams and now has gone up to seven teams altogether.
The competition started last year, rather prematurely but somehow it ended on a high note with PRK Souths winning the inaugural season.
Natto said NSL was honoured to have Telikom as its partner to take soccer to the next level, and that was where NSL was heading.
He said the competition now has two new teams which are Madang Besta being sponsored by International Food Corporation (IFC), and Inspac Insurance company who are the franchise owner of Inspac Rapatona FC.
The other five teams remain the same except for franchise names, Welgris Highlanders, Tuguba Laitape Morobe Kumuls, Gelle Hills, Hekari United (formerly PRK Souths) and Madang Fox which has now been taken over by Madang provincial government.
Natto also confirmed that Telikom won the naming right of the competition which will now known as Telikom NSL Cup.
PNG Football Association president David Chung said PNGFA and its affiliates acknowledge the new partnership forged by Telikom PNG and soccer through its semi professional competition, the NSL.