PNGFA to undergo changes to meet growth of sport

THE Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA) says it is undergoing wholesale changes to meet the demand for the growth of the sport in the country.
PNGFA general secretary Pius Letenge said that in a statement when responding to Morobe Wawens owner Andrew Namuesh’s queries about the K3 million funding for the Kumul Petroleum National Soccer League (NSL).
He urged Namuesh to consult the PNGFA Secretariat for any concerns regarding PNGFA matters, including the NSL. Letenge said the Secretariat was working closely with the NSL accounts division to finalise the 2020 financial expenditure report which would be tabled for the NSL board.
He said running the NSL was expensive but was grateful to Kumul Petroleum Holdings Ltd (KPHL) for supporting the premier football competition of the country.
Letenge said live-streaming of NSL matches was what PNGFA would be looking at as an opportunity to develop content for revenue generation.
“This is supported by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and Fifa and has been trialed in the Women’s National Soccer League,” PNGFA said in a statement.
“This is one area OFC and Fifa are supporting PNGFA and other federations to seriously look into as part of a marketing and commercialisation strategy.
“At this stage, PNGFA does not have the resources to outsource this scope so it is building capacity within its current human resources.
“PNGFA’s competitions department is now responsible in managing all sanctioned PNGFA competitions at the national and regional levels and those hosted at the provincial and member association levels.
“Franchise owners have a responsibility to the team which includes paying the nomination and affiliation fees, dressing the team (uniform), match payments and any other expenses associated with sustaining the team.”
Letenge said the current NSL board’s term in office expired last October and PNGFA was yet to deliberate on the appointment of a new board.
He said refereeing had been a major concern in past season and this was being addressed to improve the capacity and performance of referees.