Women’s soccer leads the way

 PAPUA New Guinea’s rise as a venue for international sporting events took a massive vote of confidence over the weekend. 

The country will host FIFA’s 2016 Under-20 Women’s World Cup. 

This is the first time the country will host a world cup of any sort. 

The closest the country has got to hosting large international events has been the Pacific Games (1969 and 1991) but these have been restricted to countries in the Oceania region.

The U20 World Cup is guaranteed wide coverage and more people will watch or follow the progress of their teams.

Papua New Guinea automatically qualifies for the tournament as hosts.

Matches will be played in Port Moresby, Lae and Kokopo but the capital city, with its host of new stadia and grounds, will be chief hosting site.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill commended the decision by FIFA to award the hosting rights to PNG and said the development of its sporting infrastructure was already bearing fruit. 

It was not a fast or easy process as Chung, who holds a senior position as FIFA’s vice-president (Oceania), started the push for the country to host the 16-team tournament early last year after original bid winner South Africa withdrew its bid. It then came down to PNG and Sweden.

Chung asked for and got an assurance from the O’Neill Government that they would help facilitate the tournament and ensure all related activities, permits and other requirements were given top priority.

The U20 Women’s World Cup may not rank as high a profile as its male equivalent but it is assured of worldwide attention because soccer is the world game.

Countries expected to take part at next year’s tournament are Germany, Brazil, Canada, China, Nigeria and France. There will be four teams from Europe, two from Oceania including PNG, three from the Caribbean and North Americas, three from Asia, two from South America and two from Africa.

Germany beat Nigeria 1-0 in the last U20 World Cup in Canada last year.

This will be the eighth U20 Women’s World Cup, with the inaugural winners being the United States of America, who beat Canada 1-0 in 2002. The tournament is held biennially. 

Winning the hosting rights for a FIFA world tournament speaks volumes for the progress of soccer in this country. 

Normally seen as a predominantly rugby league loving nation, this is an opportunity for PNG to show the world that it has a soccer following. In terms of where women’s soccer is in the country, this should be a queue for the PNGFA themselves and those who run the National Soccer League to do more.

The country’s women’s side has won the gold medal at the past three Pacific Games and is ranked number two in Oceania. New Zealand is the top in women’s soccer in the region and will join PNG at the World Cup.

Last year Kalabond Oval in Kokopo, East New Britain, hosted the Oceania Football Confederation’s Nations Cup. Tonga, PNG, Cook Islands and New Zealand played for the regional title.

PNG are favourites to win the gold medal at the Pacific Games in July, such is the domination the national women’s team has over its Pacific Island neighbours. 

But one cannot help think that women’s soccer must be strengthened and a concerted effort made to bring it up to level pegging as the men’s game.

There is no women’s competition at the National Soccer League level, which is unfortunate because they are the ones who are performing and getting the results. A women’s NSL competition was run concurrently with the men’s competition but could not be supported because of a lack of funding and interest from the corporate sector.

It would be ironic if the same corporate sector looks to jump on the FIFA World Cup bandwagon and give their sponsorship kina for this tournament. 

One hopes that hosting the Women’s World Cup is not an aberration for the powers that be and a chance merely for self-promotion.

Something tangible needs to be done for women’s soccer.