PNGFA to name women’s coach

By PARKER TAMBUA
GENERAL secretary Pius Letenge says Papua New Guinea Football Association is set to announce the national women’s team coach tomorrow. He told The National that the association had considered four applicants from within the country and abroad.
Letenge said they would pick a candidate who was familiar with the PNG culture and the country’s style of football.
“We have four names at the moment and an official announcement is yet to be made,” he said.
“However, two of those applicants from overseas have little understanding of PNG and how our women play. So that is a huge challenge.
“We need someone who has already been to the country, someone who knows the culture and how we play football.
“The candidate we pick must know the sensitivity around coaching our women’s team. These are the important requirements we are looking at before making the announcement.”
Stopping short of disclosing their names, Letenge said there were men and women who were interested in the role.
He said there were challenges associated with men coaching women’s teams.
“In PNG, probably because of our culture, women and girls find it hard to communicate or open up to a male coach and that’s a challenge,” Letenge said.
“But it’s different in other countries. When they have an experienced male coach, it’s an advantage to them. So these are some of the things we are considering.”
Meanwhile, an article on the Oceania Football Confederation’s website this week reported former Samoan national women’s team coach Nicola Demaine as the new head coach of the PNG women’s team.
However, Letenge said: “Any statements regarding appointment of national coaches will only come from the association.”