Conference impresses Kapi Natto

By LARRY ANDREW
NORTHERN Conference fixtures of the Women’s National Soccer League have so far been impressive, according to Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA) president John Kapi Natto.
He said that after Rainy Lae’s 2-0 shock win over conference champions Bara at the PNGFA Education Centre at 11-Mile outside Lae on Saturday.
“The game before the Rainy Lae-Bara fixture was also a good one between Tusbab Laidamon and Poro as it was close,” Kapi Natto said.
“For me, I see the Northern Conference almost on the same level as the Southern Conference.
“But looking at the Highlands and New Guinea Islands (Conferences), they need more coaching to reach that level.
“All in all, we want to see all the conferences achieve something.
“This is the second year and we’re bound to see room for improvement.” Meanwhile, Kapi Natto said he had discussions with Telikom PNG and other companies about the opportunity to secure the competition’s naming rights, but the talks were unsuccessful.
“This year was a struggle,” he said.
“But Fifa was kind enough to support us in little way, so we used that to run the season.
“Basically, we are doing fine now that we’ve seen women compete at this level.
“The competition is going to become very competitive in next two to three years.
“The men’s league will also become very competitive at the conference level.”
Kapi Natto said he was happy include the Highlands and New Guinea Islands in the league, rather than focusing on just the Northern and Southern Conferences.