PNG preparing for soccer meet

PREPARATIONS for the Papua New Guinea Under-18 men’s football team are nearing completion ahead of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Youth Development Tournament in Port Vila, Vanuatu, from Thursday.
Coach Anthony Pakakota told The National last night that PNG were working on their structures ahead of their Group A matches against Tahiti and Estonia.
New Caledonia, Vanuatu and India make up Group B.
“We have yet to play these two sides but we are looking to build on the experience in the team,” he said.
“Our preparations leading into the tournament are focusing on structural and technical football.
“The players themselves depend on each other and they have been working hard to play Tahiti and Estonia.
“The team have been in training for the past four weeks and we have a squad made up of players who have played at the OFC U17 Championship.”
The tournament is being organised with the Union of European Football Associations, with the focus not on winning a title, but on the development aspects an international event can provide, according to OFC.
The aim is to positively impact the players, coaches and referees and enhance their performance on and off the field, to provide experience, inspire learning and to improve performance.
For the first edition of the tournament, the six teams have been invited to participate in the cross-confederation event.
OFC football development chief Patrick Jacquemet is looking forward to breaking new ground with the inaugural tournament.
“With age-group tournaments gaining popularity throughout the region, we are excited to be offering exposure and international experiences for players thriving in youth competitions,” he said.
“We want to provide a pathway for these young players to reach their potential on the world stage while also creating a strong regional competition to improve the overall quality of the game in Oceania.
“These players will be in their prime for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where OFC has the opportunity to be represented by two teams for the first time, so preparations start must start now.”
The format of the competition will see each team play at least two games as part of the group stage, including one match against a European or Asian team.
The tournament is the first of its kind in Oceania, and follows the participation of Fiji and the Solomon Islands U17 teams in similar competitions in Europe earlier this year.