Soccer team off to US

Sports

THE United States Embassy is sending a second all-female soccer team, made up of students from secondary schools in the National Capital District, on a sports visit programme to the United States.
Due to the performance of the first group of nine female students in 2017, Papua New Guinea was again selected to participate in the 2019 Youth Soccer and Leadership Camp. The programme runs from June 29 to July 13, with one student each from Marianville Secondary, Port Moresby National High, Caritas and new inclusions, Kilakila Secondary and Jubilee Catholic Secondary School. “We’re helping to empower women by talking with community groups and the government, of the value of having women involved in society,” US ambassador Catherine Ebert-Gray said in a statement.
The participants are youth athletes and fluencers who travel to the United States for a short-term cultural exchange.
The programme includes sessions on nutrition, gender equity, sport and disability, and team building.
The programme shows young people how success in athletics can translate into achievements in the classroom and life.
They also provide Americans with an opportunity to interact firsthand with people from every region of the world.
Fulbright returnee and national women’s representative Deslyn Siniu gave the young footballers a pep talk on the importance of balancing education and sports for self-development.
This programme is one part of the United States’ commitment to the trilateral partnership with the Papua New Guinean and Australian governments that began during the Fifa Under-20 Women’s World Cup in 2016.
The team, all in Grade 11, are Norah Nahua (Port Moresby National High School), Therese Pomat (Jubilee Catholic Secondary), Talitha Kotauga (Marianville Secondary School), Forchinia Sakat (Caritas Technical Secondary School) and Talitha Elias (Kilakila Secondary School).
The students will be accompanied by chaperone Concepta Wut, from the St Josephs International Catholic College. The team leave tomorrow for the 10-day programme in New Jersey and Philadelphia.