Papua New Guinea Minister of Sports Justin Tkatchenko, OFC President David Chung and Local Organising Committee CEO Seamus Marten were joined by National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop and Executive Director of the PNG Sports Foundation Peter Tsiamalili Jnr, in Port Moresby this morning to showcase their collective commitment to the realisation of this project.
“On the back of the Pacific Games we have an opportunity to build on a legacy that will help attract more world class events to the country,” Chung says.
The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is the next major event to be held in Papua New Guinea with further significant events also on the horizon for the Pacific nation.
“The cooperation between all stakeholders shows the pride we have as a nation to show the world we can host these events. PNG is truly positioning itself as the sporting hub of the Pacific.”
A detailed dossier addressing the concerns FIFA highlighted was submitted ahead of the 15 October deadline and Chung, a FIFA Vice-President, will deliver a hard copy when he travels to Zurich for next week’s extraordinary FIFA Executive Committee meeting.
The document outlines plans for four match venues in Port Moresby, including a ‘pop-up’ facility at Bisini Sports Complex, identifies 17 training venues with a detailed summary on how to bring them up to FIFA’s minimum requirements and provides developed medical and security operational concepts.
“Our one city concept is a new approach for FIFA to consider and I am sure following our successful hosting it will open up new opportunities for other emerging nations to host youth events in a similar manner.”
The four proposed stadiums are the National Football Stadium, Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, Sir John Guise Stadium and the ‘pop-up’ 5,000-seater Bisini Stadium.
Minor works will bring Sir John Guise to full compliance with FIFA Stadium Guidelines, while the remaining stadia will be ready by mid-2016 at the latest.
In a further boost for Papua New Guinea’s football fans, the OFC President also confirmed that Papua New Guinea was the only Member Association to present a bid to host the 2016 OFC Nations Cup.
“The Nations Cup would provide us with a platform to test the various concepts of operations we are proposing so that when the FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup arrives our fields and our people will be ready.
“Our mission is to inspire and to excel, not only for Papua New Guineans, but for other nations to see that it can be done.
“I am proud that the Papua New Guinea Government, the PNG Sports Foundation, PNGFA and our fellow stakeholders have shown the courage to undertake this task.”

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