Kapi Natto calls for fair play

HEKARI Football Association president and Papua New Guinea Football Association presidential-nominee John Kapi Natto has called for fair play from the media leading into August 7 congress of the PNGFA.
Kapi Natto, pictured, was responding to the eleventh-hour K110,000 promise to local associations by PNGFA president David Chung if he remained in power.
Kapi Natto said such hefty support from the national federation was not new as the member associations were still waiting for their K5000 and computers as promised by the president.
“For us presidents of local associations, such promises are a political gimmick on the eve of the election. PNG and member associations are not blind and stupid,” he said.
Kapi Natto said he still had a statement from Chung about a similar promise of K5000 and a computer.
He said the promise to increase the funding from K5000 to K10,000 a year later, never eventuated in the last 12 years of Chung’s regime.
“All of a sudden, a month leading to PNGFA Congress in Kimbe, the national federation decides to put K110,000 upfront for member associations,” Kapi Natto said.
He asked why such support had been absent for the past 12 years, with local associations having to dig into their pockets to attend the programmes and tournaments without any funding from PNGFA.
“Member associations have struggled all these years so why this big sponsorship?”
Kapi Natto said if member associations were allocated K110,000 each it would cost about K1.7 million per year, and PNGFA did not have that kind of money.
Kapi Natto said in comparison with the previous PNGFA administration under Madiu Andrew, they received US$250,000 (K1 million) for 12 months, which was used to build the PNGFA academy, with support from the Fifa Goal Project.
Kapi Natto said PNGFA now receives US$1m (K4m) per year but there was nothing to show for it on the ground.
Kapi Natto blamed poor management for the sorry state of affairs affecting member associations over the past 12 years.