FOOTBALL KIDS LEND A HAND IN QUEEN’S BATON RELAY
On the 11th October, 2005 the Queen’s Baton Relay passed through Goroka, Papua New Guinea on its long journey to Australia.
Papua New Guinea was the first Oceania country to recieve the baton and over the coming months the baton will find it’s way through the Pacific covering Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Cook Islands and New Zealand.
The Queen’s Baton Relay is one of the great traditions of the Commonwealth Games, the relay symbolises the gathering of people from across the Commonwealth at the four-yearly festival of sport and culture.
Over 3,000 people from Goroka celebrated its journey and amongst the baton carriers were three young footballers from the PNGFA Besta skills development programme, Kasuogia Gaisane, Eddie Matona and Belinda Gawot.
The Besta skills development programme is part of a recently signed $300,000K sponsorship from International Food Corporation Ltd. (IFC) which was launched at the national Sports institute in Goroka.
Under their brand name Besta Tin Fish, the sponsorship will support PNGFA development programmes over the next three years. The PNGFA received bibs, balls, cones, corner flags, t-shirts and books as part of the sponsorship.
Over 100 schoolchildren are registered for this program in Goroka alone, and all took part in a skill session involving dribbling, passing, and general ball control for the official opening.
Other centres around Papua New Guinea are currently running programmes including the PNGFA Football Academy in Lae, Madang, Port Moresby, and Kimbe.