Northern comp gets K200,000 backing

 By JACK AMI

THE Popondetta Rugby League was given a major boost with a K200,000 allocation to drive the association forward.

League president Anko Vamage said that Governor Gary Juffa made an earlier commitment this year and this was fulfilled when his first secretary Philip Embahe presented the cheque to the league executives on Wednesday.

This is first time for a Northern  politician to support a sporting body with such an amount from his district support improvement programme funds.

During the presentation Embahe challenged the league executives to wisely use the money for its yearly operations. 

“As the governor is supporting the sporting activities in the province, rugby league is one of the codes which he would like to develop,” Embahe said.

 Embahe urged the league executives to provide quarterly reports to his office for accountability and transparency.

He said that more funds would be made available next year to fund all other sporting codes. 

Rugby league, he said, was one of the sports that needed to be brought up to standard of other Southern region leagues. 

“Governor Juffa has realised his first dream by fielding a soccer team into the National Soccer League and his next step would be to see the rugby league entering the semi-professional Digicel Cup competition,” Embahe said.

Embahe said there were plans to organise a junior development programme through a schoolboys competition, initially involving four primary schools. 

The schools are Sangara Primary, Siroga primary, Resurrection primary and Popondetta primary school. 

“The schoolboys league is included in the budget and money will be allocated to them to run their programme.” 

The province’s deputy administrator and Popondetta rugby league referees president, Kila Sibolo was the master of ceremony to officiate the presentation. 

Other dignitaries, who were present at the presentation were governor’s cabinet secretary Desmond Daingo, joint priority budget committee chairman Rowely Kaweregari and league judiciary chairman Brian Tamanabae.