Brother’s loss was a gain for Gabong

THE day Papua New Guinea international Yvonne Gabong’s brother Pansop first lost a tooth was when the midfielder began believing that she could actually go on to play competitive football.
Twenty-three international caps later, the 26-year-old is now the skipper of inaugural 2020-21 Women’s National Soccer League (NSL) Southern Conference winners Genesis.
The only team who had a better campaign were Northern Conference winners Poro, where Yvonne first played club football.
But the Madang and Manus native, who also has an elder sister, Betty, got her first taste of competitive football when she represented her Salvation Army Lae Primary School in 2009.
“But my best memory was when I was playing soccer with my small brother in the backyard,” Yvonne told Oceania Football Confederation TV of now 22-year-old Pansop, a defender with NSL club Port Moresby Strikers.
“I was taking shots and he was the goalkeeper but unfortunately for him, one of my efforts broke his tooth in the process.
“My father came and asked what had happened, and my small brother said ‘Yvonne kicked the ball and broke my tooth’.
“It was then that my father told me that I was going to play soccer.”
Showing such promise at a young age, she was included in the Fifa Women’s World Cup qualifiers in 2014.
By then, Yvonne already had two Under-17 and one U20 qualifying campaigns under her belt, with her youth debut coming against New Zealand at the U17 regional championships in 2010.
She became the face of the nation in 2016 when she led a valiant PNG outfit in the U20 Women’s World Cup on home soil.

“ I was taking shots and he was the goalkeeper but unfortunately for him, one of my efforts broke his tooth in the process.”

In the lead up to, and during, that event, Yvonne was centre stage of the United Nations Women campaign #SANAPWANTAIM: the New Normal.
“Women’s equality is something we feel extremely passionate about,” she said.
“There is a new normal growing in our country: one where women will be safe to walk by themselves and live their dreams.”
Gabong has always led by example, showcasing through her tertiary studies in information technology, the importance of an education alongside sporting achievements.
So much so that Genesis and national teammate Rayleen Bauelua continues to excel at club and representative level.
“She knows that you can be better, so she encourages everyone on the field,” fellow midfielder Bauelua said.
“She never stops screaming at us on the field. That’s one of the things we really appreciate and admire about her.

“She is a very good friend and role model to us all.”
But even a leader of Gabong’s ilk always has someone to rely on.
“My mother has always been there for me through thick and thin,” she said.
“When I went through some hard times, she was always there for me.
“Whenever I felt like giving up, she was the one person who stood behind me and told me never to give up so that I could reach my soccer dreams.
“Therefore, my advice to boys and girls is, never give up.
“Always work hard, and be determined to achieve your dreams in football.”