Ealedona: Milne Bay soccer on the up

EASTERN Stars FC franchise owner Joseph Ealedona has commended the Milne Bay men’s soccer team for winning the gold medal at the PNG Games.
He said it was “refreshing and most welcoming” for the people of Milne Bay.
He said the victory was also an indication that the standard of soccer was improving in the province.
Ealedona congratulated coach George Bukuya and his team, especially the Alotau-based players for their 2-1 victory over the highly fancied Morobe team.
He also gave credit to Alotau MP and National Planning Minister Charles Abel for funding the Eastern Stars’ travel to Alotau to train and play with select Alotau teams in the past two years, which was a factor in the provincial team’s success at the Kokopo Games.
He said Milne Bay Cup standards had improved following the training and mentoring of the Alotau players with stints with the Stars beneficial.
Ealedona said five provincial players had been identified to travel to Port Moresby to train with Stars and more may be considered following the gold medal win.
He added that he was assisting the suspended Alotau soccer association to return to the PNG Football Association and urged other associations in the province to follow suit so that Milne Bay players could benefit from their development programmes.