NGI the new frontier

By HENRY MORABANG
THE booming town of Kokopo, East New Britain, is expected to become the football hub of the New Guinea Islands region as it prepares to host the National Premier League (NPL) next year.
Admiralty FC coach Peter Sakael and the Bougainville Football Federation president and FFPNG vice-president Justin Helele have agreed to resettle in Kokopo to expose the region’s unknown talent to the semi-professional competition.
This was agreed in a meeting during a visit by  FFPNG president John Kapi Natto to Kokopo recently at the invitation of Kokopo Urban Soccer Association executive headed by Spencer Manahi.
After the two-hour meeting at the Kokopo Beach Bungalow with representatives from NGI region which include Kimbe, Bougainville and the host association, they all agreed to partner with FFPNG to promote football in the region.
Manus president Jack Nawi Changau endorsed the meeting but could not attend due to time factor.
Kapi Natto said Admiralty, who are currently in Port Moresby, would resettle in Kokopo next year while Helele has agreed to base his two Bougainville teams in East New Britain to take part in NGI Conference.
The meeting also agreed that host town, Kokopo, would field two teams representing two active associations in ENB, Kokopo Soccer Association and the Kokopo Urban Soccer Association.
Various speakers at the Kokopo meeting including sport advocate Don Tokunai spoke boldly about the football administration’s failure to visit member associations in the NGI region rather than concentrating on Port Moresby and Lae only.
“We have been trying to nominate with PNGFA for the last 10 years but we were given cold shoulders. The PNGFA secretariat did not make any attempt to try to help us get back into the football family,” a disappointed Tokunai told the meeting.
Former PNG midfielder Hatshire Manahi commended FFPNG’s passion, vision and drive to take football to the grassroots level.