PMSA: Recall players to women’s national squad

Normal, Sports
Source:

The National, Thursday 26 January 2012

PORT Moresby Soccer Association is calling on the PNG Football Association to reinstate several women players who have been dropped from the national squad.
In a letter to the PNGFA president David Chung dated Jan 9, association vice-president Peter Levete said it was unfair to drop the players from the squad for the Olympic qualifier.
Most of the players were part of the gold medal winning team at the Pacific Games in Noumea, New Caledonia, last September.
The players are experienced and skilful midfielder Jacqueline Chalau, utility player Esther Kurabi, first choice goalkeeper Linda Bunaga, Francesca Mandoni, Samantha Peninsa, Ara Midi, Miriam Lanta and Delaila Waive who registered with the Port Moresby Soccer Association.
He said it would only be fair if the selections were done by an independent selection committee with some input from the national coach Steven Mune.
“The Ox & Palm Women National Soccer League is in progress and it will not be a fair selection. The players competing in the competition should be given the chance to be in the training squad,” he said.
However, Mune said the players were dropped on disciplinary grounds which included their attendance at training and their behaviour on-and-off the field.
“The players should understand it is the prerogative of the head coach to drop players or recall them based on their performance in the months ahead,” he said.
“When you are dropped from the squad it is not the end of the world. The players must pause, regroup and work hard to fight their way back into the squad.”
He said players in the training squad could be also dropped if their performance did not improve so the door was open for those players.
Mune said the 35 players currently in the training squad were a bunch.
He said he was optimistic PNG would win the qualifier in Fiji.