No crowd, no final in Moresby: Hondina

Digicel Cup losing revenue amid closed-door fixtures

By PARKER TAMBUA
DIGICEL Cup organisers say the Oct 11 grand final will be moved from Port Moresby to Lae if spectators are barred from attending the match in the nation’s capital due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Port Moresby’s Digicel Cup matches have been played behind closed doors since Aug 9 following measures from the Office of the National Pandemic Controller in response to a surge in Covid-19 cases.
Prior to the measures, crowd restrictions had been put in place under the sport’s Banis Protocols in a bid to mitigate the risk of Covid-19 transmission at Digicel Cup matches.
But without crowds, the Papua New Guinea National Rugby League Competition is losing revenue from ticket sales so since last month, it has been pushing for their return to Port Moresby matches.
Competition manager Stanley Hondina said they had yet to receive a PNG Sports Foundation response after submitting a request for the return of spectators under the arrangement prior to the recent lockdown.
He said they would make a second submission this week.
“We want to see crowds return to Sir John Guise Stadium but the people ‘upstairs’ (foundation) are not letting us,” Hondina said last week.
“We will make another submission to see if crowds can return for the remainder of the season.”
Attempts to get a comment from the foundation were unsuccessful.
Hondina said they would decide whether Port Moresby or Lae would host the grand final “when we get closer” to the match day.
“There are factors that we have to consider before making the decision,” he said.
“But if there are no crowds allowed in Port Moresby then we can’t host the grand final here.
“The game is played by the people, for the people.
“We also have to consider that these are unprecedented times.
“We are operating on a weekly basis due to the uncertainties surrounding the competition amid the pandemic.”