PNGSF seeks interim boss

THE Papua New Guinea Sports Foundation (PNGSF) says it is has begun the process of finding an interim replacement for Peter Tsiamalili Jr following the executive director’s resignation to contest the Bougainville presidency.
“Following the resignation of the executive director, the board has begun the process of liaising with the Public Service Commission and Personnel Management Department for an acting appointment before the position is advertised,” foundation chairman Ian Chow said in a statement yesterday.
Tsiamalili’s resignation is effective next Monday, having overseen the 2014 and 2017 PNG Games, 2015 Pacific Games, 2016 Fifa Under-20 Women’s World Cup, 2017 Rugby League World Cup, 2018 Oceania Swimming Championships and 2018 Fiba U15 Oceania Championships in his seven-year tenure.
Meanwhile, the PNGSF board held its first quarterly meeting at the Sir John Guise Indoor Stadium in Port Moresby over the weekend.
The meeting had some historical relevance as it was conducted while livestreaming two of its commissioners from Brisbane, Australia, to be part of the session.
“It marked a significant step for the organisation in conducting board meetings using the improved Information and Communication Technologies infrastructure in our sporting venues and also managing the new normal back-to-sports Covid-19 protocol,” Chow said.
“The Covid-19 state of emergency has impacted greatly on the activities of the organisation.
“However, it has also allowed the foundation to review and address critical administrative challenges.”
Tsiamalili said: “it was an opportune time to capitalise on our fiber optic connectivity and upgrade our software and hardware that will enable efficiency in managing our human resources and finances.”
The next two months will see the organisation’s HR and finance information migrate into a cloud-based system to allow visibility and efficiency.
“In our efforts to manage and maintain our facilities and to adhere to the Covid-19 protocol, the foundation is now implementing a ‘one entry point’ strategy, where all venue users will be issued passes to enter all the venues,” Chow said.
“This is part of our initiative to capture the data of venue users and manage our responsibility of social tracing in the event of an outbreak.
“While our protocol clearly spells out the areas to adhere to resume training or competitions, the reality is spectators who need to be managed.
“To address spectator experience, PNGSF will be trialing our broadcast licence to live stream domestic events over the next six months.”
“This initiative is our ‘take back PNG’ strategy where our national sports federations get to monetise, create value and ignite the sporting industry through broadcasting,” Tsiamalili said