Hekari to play Ba, Solomon Islands

By HENRY MORABANG
PAPUA New Guinea champion club, Hekari United FC is proposing two international friendlies as part of preparations for the upcoming O-League championships next month in Port Moresby.
Hekari will play host to Fiji’s champion, Ba, in the opening match on March 30.
Franchise owner John Kapi-Natto yesterday confirmed that Hekari was negotiating with the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) to host Solomon Islands national side in the second week of next month.
“We are yet to confirm dates with the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) for the Honiara-based national players to come for the friendly match,” he said.
“The team will be without overseas-based players from Amicale FC (Vanuatu), Fiji, New Zealand and Australia,” he said.
“The SIFF needs the friendlies to prepare for the two World Cup qualifying matches later this year.
“The proposal looks good at this stage. The Bonitos will play Tahiti Nui on March 22 in Pape’ete, Tahiti, in their final away clash of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. This will be followed by a home match against New Zealand on March 26 to be played at Lawson Tama.”
Kapi Natto said Hekari desperately needed an international friendly to give the champion club good competition.
Locally, Hekari is getting good challenge from NSL teams like FC Port Moresby, Welgris Highlands and hopefully, Gigira Laitepo Morobe FC will step up on the occasion and give his team a good challenge as FC Port Moresby did two weeks ago.