Focus on stronger sports

By PATRICIA KEAMO
FUNDING athlete preparations for the July 28-Aug 8 Birmingham Commonwealth Games will be strategic and focused on medal-winning sports,
says an official. Papua New Guinea Sports Foundation executive director Albert Veratau told The National  hat although it was an interesting year for sports, there was no funding allocated for sports in the 2022 Budget. “We need to be targeting athletes in such a way that we allocate more resources to sports that are most likely to win gold medals,” he said.
“A lot of times, we expect our athletes to do extremely well, but the level of investment that we put into preparing them is not sufficient, in my opinion.
“So if we are going to win gold in the Commonwealth Games or Olympics, we need to prepare our athletes.
“We need to invest time, money and resources in those athletes.
“We need to also be strategic in who we invest in and who we don’t necessarily invest in, but have an equal playing field for them as well.
“That way, the investments are more strategic, focused and targeted, so we achieve the outcomes that we want.”
Veratau said he was interested in the athletes that would be competing in the Games.
“As a government organisation developing sport in the country, we will ensure that at least one or two athletes win gold,” he said. “I am in discussion with national federations on how we organise the sports and who competes.
“We’re discussing the selection criteria and also how much we’re investing to drive the outcome we want. These discussions will continue with the federations and the PNG Olympic Committee. We need to invest time and resources to make sure that Team PNG performs well.
“It’s one thing to put them on the plane and another thing to make sure that they bring medals back.
“But I believe we have the potential to win gold.”