Committee appoints women to manage venues for Fifa event

Sports

Women will be at the forefront of the running of the Fifa Under-20 Women’s World Cup and the appointment of female venue general managers is a testament.
Three women were appointed as venue general managers (VGMs) to run the operations of the Sir John Guise Stadium, National Football Stadium and the PNG Football Stadium.
Local organising committee chief executive officer Seamus Marten said: “The Fifa U20 Women’s World Cup slogan is ‘To Inspire, to excel’ and we are proud to have these three women holding this important role”.
“We not only want to inspire women playing football on the pitch but also want to inspire women in football administrative roles,” he said.
The women VGMs are Toka Kini-Aua, Grace Yohang-Mataio and Frederica Sakette.
Aua will be in charge of the Sir John Guise Stadium, Sakette will be looking after the PNG Football Stadium, while Yohang-Mataio will be in charge of the National Football Stadium.
Sakette has had a football career spanning 20 years.
She rose from playing football to becoming a coach and eventually as a football administrator.
She sees this opportunity as the icing on the cake of her career.
Kini-Aua, on the other hand, is a netballer and Yohang-Mataio is an accountant.
All three women have expressed deep satisfaction about their appointment and the role they would play during the World Cup.
Bava Park stadium will be managed by Emmanuel Popoitai, a footballer himself who is very passionate about the game.
The four will be traveling to Jordan for the Fifa U17 Women’s World Cup to be held at the end of this month to gain insight on the role that they will be playing during the Fifa U20 Women’s World Cup Papua New Guinea in November.