AFL pledges to hold more matches, activities in rural areas

By ROBINSON LEKA
THE Papua New Guinea AFL Commission has vowed to hold more matches and activities in rural areas following the launching of the Port Moresby AFL (POMAFL) season in Hula, Central, on Saturday.
Commission chairman Loi Bakani extended the initiative with more matches planned for Hula as well as other parts of Central and PNG.
“The launch here is not only for the POMAFL season but for associations around PNG,” he said.
“We want to prompt interest in the game in our rural areas from next year.
“If everything goes well, we will have the opening round here in Hula and we’re excited.
“It’s exciting when you have games in Port Moresby but now we will try to do the same in Hula.
“We’ll try to host some tournaments here during the holidays or on weekends.
“We’ll try to put some teams together in Port Moresby and Hula, and we can a have another day out in the village with a few matches.
“I think it’s a positive way to revive AFL in Hula.
“Hopefully, we can replicate it in other provinces.”
Meanwhile, POMAFL president Douglas Lai called for more AFL matches to be played outside of the city in a bid to boost the sport.