It will be a battle of the provinces as the cream of local stars will be playing for pride for their respective provinces.
A total of six men’s teams and four women’s teams will be vying for top honours in the Cup, with the final on Saturday. The six men’s teams are Goroka, Wau, LFA, Port Moresby Soccer Association, Koupa and Kimbe.
Tournament Director Simon Koima said the men’s games will be held at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium while the women will play at the PNGFA Academy at 11 mile outside of Lae. He said the women’s teams to compete are Kimbe, PMSA, Goroka, Lahi.
In men’s pool one have Kimbe, Lae Football Association (LFA) and Port Moresby Soccer Association (PMSA), and pool two have Momase runner-up Wau Soccer Association, Koupa from Kaparoko Village, Central province and sole Highlands representative Goroka Soccer Association.
With the women’s Kimbe will play Goroka, while PMSA will play Lahi in the semifinals. The winners play each other in the grand final on Saturday.
These provincial teams have emerged winners in their respective regional qualifiers and thus have booked a placing in the prestigious finale.
Besta for the straight year have shown their support towards soccer in the country. Besta’s K100, 000 sponsorship has seen local stars emerge from this competitive tournament. Hosts and defending champions Lae Football Association will be looking to retain the cup.
LFA’s aggressiveness and competitiveness and competitiveness has seen them rise to glory on several occasions in past tournaments and they have been consistent year in and out. However this year, it will be a tough battle as boys from the capital, PMSA are primed for a showdown.
They will leave no stone unturned. The bulk of the NSL players have turned the capital competition around with most clubs stepping up to the occasion. And this has seen PMSA already sounding early warnings during their qualifiers in Alotau.
The other team to watch out for is Koupa from Central Province. The dark horses from Kaparoko proved their worth when they beat Vonnie Kapi-Natto’s association Public Servants Soccer Association in their Southern regional qualifier.