Tuesday, 29 November 2016

PNG U20 Womens team Loose to Sweden (Post Courier 17/11/16)

PNG`s Nicollete  Ageva (10) and Sweden's Tove almqvist
wrestling for the ball at the Sir John Gisue Stadium
picture by Mark Talia Post Courier Photographer 


By FIDELIS SUKINA

Four goals to Sweden Striker Stina Blackstenius featured in the 6-0 thumping of Papua New Guinea in the second game of Pool A of the FIFA U20 Womens World Cup on the 16th of November 2016.

Blackstenius and her deep running caused a lot of headaches to Papua New Guineas backline as the

striker put in four seemingly easy goals.

Papua New Guinea conceded an early goal in the eight minute when Blackstenius and fellow forward Anna Anvegard’s short passing game in the goal mount saw a startled PNG goal keeper Lavina Hola rush out before Blackstenius kicked one pass her for a goal.

PNG couldn’t get their passes right and their kicks were off target on a lot of occasions, and to add to PNGs misery Sweden’s long passing and high balls made it even more difficult to counter their running onto accurate trough balls.

But PNG got aggressive and numbered up in defense holding them off for 1-0 until Blackstenius scored her second goal in the 43rd minute.

PNG flanker Nicolette Ageva and Midfielder Ramona Padio were wasted on occasion with in accurate passing from team mates resulting in them over running and falling short on through balls.

After a 2-0 first half PNG came back well but two more goals from Blackstenius in the 58th and 72nd minute showed PNG had been trained and were fatigued, leaving the Swedish to push forward running in two more goals in the 75th and 82nd minute.

Padio showed passion during extra time trying her aim at the goal post twice on both occasions flying above the goal post.


PNG coach Lisa Cole said she was happier about their performance than their previous game against Brazil, and commended the home crowd support.

“I think the team performed well than the last game despite the score line, they showed a lot of heart and our tactical skills worked well this time.


“Our backline was better than the other day as well, and the crowd seemed to be behind us and cheered on when we had good opportunities but it would have been nice to score a goal and hear the cheer of the whole Papua New Guinea,” Cole said

Sweden coach Calle Barrling said he was impressed with Papua New Guineas performance, but he did agree they would have gone and scored more.

“We scored six goals and in an international tournament that’s great, but we dropped a bit in the first half, if not we might have scored more maybe 10 goals.

“But I was surprised with the PNG team they showed a lot of skill and they were fast as well and physical and they gave a good challenge, and the crowd was great PNG really proved better than I thought,” Barrling said

Top of the Table Clash Korea DPR vs Brazil (16/11/16)

Korea forward KIM So Hyang (20) running the ball as Brazils
Adailma Da Sil Va Santos (10). closes in on her
picture by Mark Talia Post Courier Photographer 
By FIDELIS SUKINA

It will be a top of the table clash in pool A when Korea DPR and Brazil take center stage, in day three of the FIFA U20 Womens World Cup.

The game will kick off at 4pm today at the Sir John Guise stadium and the winner will be the leader in group A going into the final group games.

Brazil may have had an easy win spoiling PNGs hopes of a good start smashing an equal record of nine unanswered goals.

The equaling record is held by Korea DPR after they smashed Argentina in 2012 nine goals to nil.

So both teams have equaled each other in the highest goals, but both teams have met only three times with Korea DPR winning two of the three matches.

But this is a new tournament and both teams have a new look team for this tournament,

Brazil are one of only four teams to qualify for all 8th editions of the tournament but Korea DPR boast a tournament trophy which the country won in 2006 when the country made its first appearance in the FIFA U20 Womens World Cup.

Brazil punished PNG with a barrage of shots at goal having scored nine goals of 22 attempts at PNGs goal mount, which saw doubles for Gabi Nunes, Brena and Yasmim, while Duda, Katrine and Geyse were also on the score sheet.

They left nothing behind in their wake but a tiered PNG U20 Womens team and a disappointed home crowd, but Korea DPR were dominant in their match keeping the Swedish women struggling in the humid Port Moresby weather.

Korea DPR are set to test the Brazilian outfit who have their best performance finishing third place at Russia 2006, and though they also reached the last four at Canada 2002 and Thailand 2004, the Brazilians failed to advance beyond the quarter-finals in their three other appearances.

Korea DPR boasts an incredible record at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, and they are one of the globe’s most successful in the competition. Despite missing out on the inaugural campaign in 2002 and the next edition in 2004, they took Russia 2006 by storm clinching the title as debutants.

Korea have a distinctive style of play that is disciplined and has proven to be dominant seeing them coming in as favorites as well in this tournament, While Brazil may have equaled Korea DPRs record with the highest goals scored in a tournament the two top sides in Pool A will surely entertain the crowd at Sir John Guise

Profile Captain U20 New Zealand Womens team Captain (Post Courier 16/11/16)

Meikayla Moore before thier game against Ghana picture
by Mark Talia Post Courier Photographer 
Compiled By
FIDELIS SUKINA

It’s the second trip for New Zealand Captain Meikayla Moore to Papua New Guinea she was here during the pacific games.

She led her team well against an athletic and physical Ghana team on Monday leading well in her position as a defender at the back, organizing a resilient defense against Ghana in their
1-0 victory.

She has had experience with the National team the Football Ferns playing in the Womens World Cup in Canada last year; Moore was started her representative career as a member of the New Zealand U-17 side at the 2012 Women's World Championships were she played in all three of New Zealand's group games

She and her team mates know about Papua New Guinea well enough to have researched the country and they will be a strong team if they advance to the knockout stages.














Name: Meikayla Jean-Maree Moore

Country: New Zealand

D.O.B: 04/06/96

Club: Cashmere Technical FC (NZL)

Position: Defender

Representative Duties: U17 women's world cup 2012, 2014 U20 women's world cup, 2015 women's world cup, 2016 Olympic games, 2016 U20 women's world cup

Who is Your Favorite Footballer and Why?
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) - pure athleticism and skill in both defending and with the ball

What Do You Think of Papua New Guinea?

Very Hot and humid climate, beautiful views

What is the first thing you will tell friends about PNG?
The locals are extremely happy and welcoming and friendly and are constantly waving at us ☺️

Ageva from Bougainville to the big stage (Post Courier 16/11/16)

Nicollete Ageva during the FIFA U20 Womens World Cup in Port Moresby
picture by Mark Talia Post Courier Photographer
By FIDELIS SUKINA

The Papua New Guinea U20 Womens team faces a tough task, but Nicollete Ageva could produce a goal for PNG.

Bougainvillean recruit Nicollete Ageva was hard at training with her team mate’s on 15th November 2016 getting ready to face one of Europes toughest teams in Sweden.

Ageva could be a goal scorer for Papua New Guinea after her performance in the opening match despite getting thumped by a classy Brazillian outfit; Ageva was one of the stand outs in the PNG team.

Ageva wearing jersey number 10 on Sunday night produced a roar from the crowd when her cross briefly threatened to sneak in at the back post.

The shy but out spoken young lady was given the chance to represent Papua New Guinea after she was spotted playing soccer with friends in Bougainville.

She only played soccer on occasion in certain tournaments but was lucky enough to be spotted by officials from Oceania.

“I was discovered in Buka last year when I was doing my grade 10 at Hutjena Secondary School in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville when representatives of the Oceania Football Competition (OFC) just play program were in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville,” Ageva said

OFC coaches were not wrong with the talent of Ageva who impressed the WOmens under 20 coach Lisa Cole during their training at Goroka where was also studying doing her grade 11.

From the shores of Bougainville to the peaks of Goroka Ageva is privileged to be a part of the U20 PNG Womens team.

Ageva was grateful enough for her parents to be part of the opening match of U20 PNG Womens team, and she did not disappoint with a great game.

“It’s an honor and privilege to be in this team and to be playing in the FIFA U20 World Cup tournament, playing with the team, we are getting along well, as we help each other, understand each other’s position in the team,” Ageva said

Sweden are European champions coming into the tournament and team PNG will have to dig extra deep to produce a great win

Legacy Program in place for PNG U20 Girls (Post Courier 16/11/16)

The PNG U20 Womens team during the FIFA U20 World Cup in Port Moresby


By FIDELIS SUKINA

PNG U20 Womens Coach Lisa Cole has put in place a legacy program for the future of the U20 womens team going forward to next year’s qualifiers.

Eleven of the players in the current team of the U20 PNG Women’s team are eligible for the next world cup in France 2018.

Cole told Post Courier that she had put in a legacy program to see through that the team remains together leading into the qualifiers next year, but the issue of sponsorship will need to be addressed.

“I put together a legacy program that would see the team through qualifying for the next U20 World Cup (11 of the current players are eligible) and then the Sr Team’s qualifying for the next world cup in 4 years.

“I am hopeful that we will be able to find sponsorship for this and that we can continue to not only have this group not only on the field but in school,” Cole said

Cole added the team is improving slowly and she is really pushing for the current program to continue on to the next cycle of the Under 20 qualifiers next year.

She believes in the team and has hope that with the current experience and the continued program leading into next year will see the U20 Womens team be a tough competitor in the Oceania regional qualifiers.

PNG U20 Womens Coach Lisa Col

“Again I am hopeful that we continue the current program for the next cycle to the U20 World Cup.

Qualifying is in Mid Aug of next year and I believe the PNG Team is capable of beating NZ if given the opportunity to prepare properly.

“I have developed a program to overlap between the age groups to share resources and to allow for games to be played vs. each other,” Cole said

Cole’s tentative legacy program is scheduled to take place at the National Sports Institute in Goroka, as early as January 2017 all through into the year.

The program will ensure the squad members are in school and train on schedule towards the Stage one (late July 2017) and stage two (mid August 2017) of the U20 World Cup Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) qualifiers.

Cole also mentioned that the U17 qualifiers are also next year with stage one U17 World Cup OFC qualifiers in September and the second stage in November.

Cole’s program also includes the senior team and the U15 team as well and their schedules will overlap to include friendly matches between the U20s and the U17s and the senior team, while the U15 team will play against the U17 to identify future players

“I have developed a program to overlap between the age groups to share resources and to allow for games to be played vs. each other.

“PNG is capable of winning at the next level, not the world level yet but we can compete with New Zealand to represent OFC at the world cup and should. It is only our lack of organization that prevents this from happening,” Cole said








New Zealand Brave Ghana Onslaught (Post Courier 15th/11/16)

New Zealand defender Sarah Morton (2) challenging Ghana forward
Sandra Owusu-Ansah (9) for the ball picture by Mark Talia Post Courier Photographer 
By FIDELIS SUKINA

A brave New Zealand U20 Womens team beat a dominant Ghana team in the 89th minute with a goal to substitute Tyler Christensen on Monday 14th November 2016

The second match of Group C in the FIFA U20 Womens World Cup at the PNG Football stadium yesterday was a physical encounter that New Zealand anticipated when they took on the Black Princesses of Ghana , New Zealand opened the match with shots at the goal mount just minutes into the game, but it was Ghana who proved they were more physical and skillful than the U20 Football Ferns.

As the game progressed it was Ghana who dominated the first half play with their athleticism and speed with Ghana mid field Wasila Diwura-Soale and Forward Sandra Owusu-Ansah stepping up on occasion running past New Zealand Defenders Samantha Murrell and Captain Meikayla Moore to get shots at the keeper, but to no avail as both teams finished the first half scoreless.

 The Substitutes for New Zealand stepped up in the second half as both teams felt the humidity of Port Moresby get to them, but it was New Zealand who lasted in the dying minutes with Substitute Forward Tyler Christensen getting past Ghana Goal Keeper Victoria Agyei who rushed out of the goal mount leaving Christensen to place one behind the net in the 89th minute.

Ghana took a staggering 15 shots at goal with only 6 making it on target while New Zealand for their efforts made 7shots at goal with only three making the target.

 New Zealander Paige Satchell who was a head ache on the Ghana back line was given the Live Your Goals player of the match award for the match for her running game that got her dribbling past Ghanaian defense in the first and second half.

New Zealand Coach Leon Birnie said they did their home work and knew what they were up against and told them to be bravein the moments that actually mattered.

“I am proud of the girl’s performance they were resilient in the first half, at the drinks break I told them we needed brave players and they delivered.

“We researched the Ghana team and we knew they would be athletic and physical, but we hung in there in the right moments to win,”Birnie 

Ghana coach Mas-Ud Dramani said they had all the positive aspects to win but the humidity and a few rookie mistakes by the team cost them the game.

“It was a high class youth football match, with high intensity, but the humidity sapped our energy at times, but we controlled the well and attacked well.


“But with youth players they make individual mistakes as expected, we just have to continue to keep focus and direction towards the next game.” Dramani said

Sweden Needs to play well (Post Courier 14/11/16)

Team Sweden during the FIFA U20 Womens World Cup in PNG
picture by Mark Talia Post Courier Photographer 
By FIDELIS SUKINA

Sweden will need to play well in their next FIFA U20 Womens World Cup game to keep their chances alive to remain after the group stage.

Their performance was good against Korea DPR but will certainly improve in their next match after their 2-0 loss to Korea DPR, when they take on host nation Papua New Guinea in their group A match on Wednesday 7pm at the Sir John Guise Stadium.

Papua New Guinea, who lost in a record 9-0 at the hands of Brazil, will be looking for improvement but the Swedish women will be out to take advantage of PNGs lack of experience.

Sweden coach Calle Barrling said they were the European Champions in their division and they were not out of form as yet, they played against a tough team in Korea DPR but they coped better in their second half than their first.

“We stopped the dominance of Korea DPR in the second half, but they were too skilled and we got stressed in attacking and lost the ball on occasion.

“We could not make use of the ball higher up in their goal area, shows we were not that skillful, but they were good, and played like the favorites Japan hope we get to improve again if we meet them,”.
He said the weather was not that hot but it was the humidity that was a big concern for the Swedish women.

“It was not that hot but it was certainly humid, we would have coped with the heat it wasn’t that high, but it was a highly competitive physical battle that saw the best team win,” Barrling said.

Papua New Guinea will again have a tough game, as Lisa Cole and the Papua New Guinean women look to dig deeper than just a game to build experience.


Cole said in a post match interview yesterday after their 9-0 loss that she was proud of the team, even though the shoreline was harsh on them; she added that they were first timers and would gain much experience as they could.

Korea DPR win their first pool game (Post Courier 14/11/16)




Korea DPR's Hyang Sim Ri celebrating a goal against Sweden picture by Mark Talia Post Courier Photographer 


By FIDELIS SUKINA

An excited Korea DPR was held to a 2-0 win by Sweden in the opening match of the FIFA U20 Womens World Cup at the Sir John Guise stadium on the 13th of November 2016.

Korea DPR coach Yongbong Hwang with the help of a translator said the team could have scored more goals but were too excited playing the opening match of their group.

“I think the girls were too excited that we were playing the first match, but as the tournament goes on they will score more goals,” Hwang said

Sweden head coach Callie Barrling was disappointed with his team saying they had played a first half thinking a lot on how to stop the Korea DPR attack.

He added that the goal keeper Emma Holmgren was a stand out among the team saving potential goals by Korea DPR
Sweden # 9 Stina Blacksteniu stopping a ball during the match

“Congratulations to Korea DPR they deserve the win it was evident in the first half with their attack, they made us think for 45 minutes how to stop the bleeding, but I commend our goal keeper on her game,” Barrling said

The 4944 opening match crowd was kept on their feet with a great open style play from the Korea DPR, Sweden looked weak in defense as Korea ran through balls and long passes, but missing the net on a few occasions, but it was their short passing at the 18 yard box that saw the first goal 25 minutes into the first half, when So Hyang Kim passed to Hyang Sim Ri for a place kick that found the net.
Korea DPRs backline held firm on the Swedish attack for a 1-0 lead into second half.

The second half saw an improved Swedish attack with the like of Johanna Kaneyrd and Stina Blackstenius making breaks and running onto through balls, but the team was cut down by a determined Korea DPR who kept piling up in defense and creating turn over’s, the counter from Korea DPR saw So Hyang Kim score their final goal in the 47th minute.

Opening goal scorer and FIFA Live your goals player of the match Hyang Sim Ri through the help of a translator said she was happy to win the match and looked forward to the tournament.

“I am pleased with the result it was a good win, this victory will ensure we have a chance to qualify at the group stage,” Sim Ri said.

Korea DPR 2 (H.Sim RI 25’ S.Hyang Kim 47’) Sweden 0.

Prime Minister Of Papua New Guinea welcomes FIFA Players and Deligates (Post Courier 14/11/16)

Tourism Arts and Culture Minister Tobias Kulang, , Papua New Guinea Football Association President David Chung, The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O’Neill Sports Minister Justin Tkatchenko and National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop  during the opening night.
By FIDELIS SUKINA

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O’Neill officially welcomed the visiting teams and the FIFA officials attending the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup on Friday.

He was present alongside National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop, PNG Football Association President David Chung, Sports Minister Justin Tkatchenko   and Tourism Arts and Culture Minister Tobias Kulang at the Stanley Hotel in Port Moresby.

O’Neill told the gathering that Papua New Guinea was a country of warm loving people that should not be feared.

 “The people of Papua New Guinea are here to support each of you feel free to engage with our people, they are warm people,”

“I would like to extend the welcome to the FIFA officials and I know you all have had a warm welcome we are a very unique people and we will support all the teams.

“It’s a proud moment to host such an event and I have to commend David Chung and his team for their tireless efforts in making this event possible,”

Chung said it is a tournament that would bring a lasting legacy to the volunteers and the young women playing soccer in Papua New Guinea.

“We have been working hard to build stadiums and fields, we are a football loving nation, and the World Cup will be a lasting legacy for the country.

“It will inspire our young women to play the sport of football, and it will inspire the volunteers to move on with the experience into the future as they find other jobs,” Chung said.

Governor Powes Parkop said it was finally here the World Cup and it was the time for other countries to experience the nation, he also encouraged the visiting teams and tourists to come back to PNG if possible in the future.


“Welcome all teams to the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Port Moresby, we are a country of diverse culture and Port Moresby is the centre of the country hope you all experience the hospitality and culture of PNG during your stay and hope you all can come back again later on,” Parkop said.

Friday, 11 November 2016

PNG ready to Host FIFA U20 Womens World Cup

The Tokara and June Valley Community in Port Moresby welcoming the USA U20 Womens team at the Jacksons International Airport in PNG.
Sunday will see the opening of the FIFA U20 womens World Cup in Port Moresby, the eight edition of the tournament.

The Capital City of Papua New Guinea has had 18 months to prepare for the 4 week tournament that will see more than 300 female athletes from 16 countries battle to claim the FIFA U20 Women’s trophy.

The tournament will run from the 13th of November to the 3rd of December 2016,

So far the four venues at the Sir John Guise Stadium, The PNG Football Stadium and Bava Stadium are being prepared right on to schedule, the final of the visiting fifteen teams USA arrived on Thursday.

The fifteen teams that have qualified are Ghana Nigeria Japan Korea DPR Korea Republic France Germany Spain Sweden Canada Mexico USA New Zealand Papua New Guinea Brazil Venezuela and will be taking part in the tournament hosted by Papua New Guinea in the capital city Port Moresby.


Host Papua New Guinea are in Pool A with Brazil Sweeden and Korea DPR, Pool B is Spain, Canada, Nigeria and Japan, Pool C is France, USA, Ghana and New Zealand, While Germany, Venezuela, Mexico and South Korea (Korea Republic) are in Pool D

Over 120 million viewers are expected to watch the tournament worldwide and the schedule can be seen on the link (here)

The First games will be played on Sunday November 13th where the Pool A games will see Sweeden  play Korea DPR in the first match at 4pm PNG time while the Host PNG will play Brazil at 7pm PNG time.

Pool B matches will be played at the Bava Stadium where Canada will take on Spain at 4pm and Japan will take on Nigeria at 7pm. Pool C and D will play on Monday

Papua New Guinea is a country where traditional values and customs remain strong. There are only limited signs of globalisation in what is still a mostly monocultural society. Like many great sporting events, the 2016 U-20 Women’s World Cup is a chance for various cultures to mix and learn from each other. This was the idea behind PNG mobilising their various villages, church and community groups for the welcome.

“We want to give warm smiles and love and affection to the countries that are coming here, a real PNG welcome,” PNG Sports Minister, Hon. Justin Tkatchenko told FIFA.com. “At the end of the day we want to show what the Pacific is all about and what we are trying to achieve with our sporting events.

“We want to be ambassadors of our country, and have our visitors go away and say, ‘What a wonderful country it is and what a wonderful people they are’.

“We also plan to take the visitors on off days to designated areas of the city and be welcomed by mothers and young women. We hope to give them a new experience that they would never have had before, how our people live, what our cultures are. They can take that memory back home that they have not just stayed, but been to the grassroots and seen the real life of our people.

“It will be a benefit to the locals too of course. They heard of the Rio Olympics in Brazil, but perhaps have never met a Brazilian person before. It is about meeting a different person and a different culture."

The family culture that permeates throughout the Pacific is undoubtedly a primary underlining theme, “These are the daughters of families across the world, and throughout the Pacific there is a strong family orientated nature. So it is about taking care of our guests while they are here, welcoming them to the Papua New Guinea family and ensuring they are looked after before they return home,” said Seamus Marten, chief executive of the Local Organising Committee.

“This is a chance for proud Papua New Guineans to show their culture, their warmth and to welcome international guests. It is a really unique place and there is no bigger platform to promote that side of the country than a FIFA World Cup.”

And it’s fair to say each and every team was thrilled by their reception. “It was great that at 5am in the morning a whole school class was waiting for us – simply to say ‘Hello’,” Germany coach Maren Meinert told FIFA.com.

“It shows how much interest the people have in presenting themselves as a country at a big sports event. It is great to see how happy the people are. They put their hearts into it to making the World Cup happen here, and that is really nice."

If first impressions are the most enduring, then the people of Papua New Guinea will long be remembered by every single visitor at the 2016 U-20 Women’s World Cup.







Pugh could be the difference for USA

Most experienced caped player Mallory Pugh will bring much experience and confidence to the USA U20 Womens team.
BY FIDELIS SUKINA

Three times U20 Womens World Cup Champions United States of America arrived yesterday afternoon. They are the final team to arrive but one of the favorites to win the FIFA U20 Womens World Cup.

On arrival at the Jacksons International airport in Port Moresby USA coach Michelle French said they had a changed side from the team that went down to Japan in the tri nations matches between Japan, PNG and USA.

 They have acquired the services US Womens International Mallory Diane "Mal" Pugh at only 18years of age, after playing extensively with the U–17 and U–20 teams, Pugh first appeared for the United States senior national team on January 23, 2016 in an international friendly against Ireland. At 17, she was the youngest player to debut for the national team.

“We have Mallory Pugh, who is the most experienced player in the team at the moment; the team itself is different from the team that came for the tri nations early this year,” French said.
A bit of an understatement from Coach French, she said they haven’t had the experience of a World Cup tournament, but they boast good players in the likes of Mallory Pugh, Ashley Sanchez and Jessie Scarpa.
USA U20 Womens Goal Keeper Brooke Heinsohn (Left) with local
Avila Nobe of Tokarara during the USA teams arrival on Friday

“The tree previous World Cups were won by three different teams from the USA and this team haven’t even experienced the World Cup even at the U17 level,” French said.

They have their first game against France on Monday and USA Coach French could not go further to give away their strategies, but only stated that they would take one game at a time.

They have done well to improve their chances of beating the humidity in Port Moresby staying at Cairns for an extended 10 days before reaching PNG.

“There are a lot of good teams in the tournament, but we have our first game against France and we are looking forward to that.


“We have been fortunate to be in cairns for 10 days to get associated with the weather and that is good for us,” French said  

Canada ready to Impress


Thumbs up: from left Canadas U20 Womens full back Victoria Pickett and midfielder Vital Kats give a thumbs up as they arrived in Port Moresby.
Words and Pictures by FIDELIS SUKINA

Canada the previous hosts of the FIFA U20 Womens World Cup, arrived on Wednesday, and are anticipating a good outcome in the tournament.
Canadian U20 Womens coach Daniel Worthington said yesterday at the team’s arrival in Port Moresby that they were looking ahead of the tournament.

He added that the team was young and part of their EXCEL program, which was a key component of building the talent of young women soccer players towards the senior team.

Worthington mentioned that the team is made up of young women averaging 18 years of age and are using the FIFA U20 Womens World Cup as tournament experience against tier one junior football nations.

He praised their EXCEL program that could be the turn point for the team that lost the final in the inaugural tournament in 2002 to the USA.

“Look we are here because part of our program is the youth to senior program we have a young squad average age of 18 it’s a chance for them to gain tournament experience against good tier one junior football team’s en-route to being senior players for the national team.

“I was the U23 EXCEL director in 2014 and we have an EXCEL director for the Under 15 to 23 and it’s a great program that brings synergy from top to bottom”, said Coach Worthington

He praised the atmosphere and culture of the people of Port Moresby during his visit and added that the players were looking forward to that.

“ I came here in the end of august to do a tour of the facilities had a great time, great culture from the people of Papua New Guinea and all the players are looking forward to the culture the country offers,” Worthington said.

The coach added that they would build on the experience in the previous years and look to best their last performance in 2014 as hosts where they lost in the quarter finals.
Papua New Guinea Canadian Supporters from the Burns Peak Community
in Port Moresby Welcoming the Canadian U20 Womens team

"We look forward to going to Papua New Guinea 2016 and playing against the best teams in the world. We won't change our philosophy: 

we are going to play the way want to play because it is the right way and it is the right way for Canada," said Coach Worthington.

Big Welcome for Visiting FIFA U20 Teams by Papua New Guinea

 ITI walk for life team leader Joyce V Lelesi (in blue dress) and Tokarara Ward 8 president Michael Boeo (Number 82 Shirt) with fans welcoming the USA team. 
Words and Pictures by FIDELIS SUKINA 
    
In true show of support the Tokarara June Valley community and the students of the International Training Institute (ITI) gathered to welcome the United States team.

The group from Tokara and ITI were the final group to welcome the final arriving United States U20 Womens team.

USA PNG fams putting woven USA beinnies
on the U20 USA Womens team members
They are part of the National Capital District Walk for life initiative and were the chapter assigned to welcome the USA team.

Michael Boeo the Tokarara Ward 8 president and leader of the welcome team at the airport said they would be at all the games of the United States of America.

“We practiced the chants and war cry for a week and came as early as 11am, and we will be at all the USA games,” Boeo said

ITI walk for life team leader Joyce V Lelesi
and Tokarara Ward 8 president Michael Boeoat the Airport.
They are so passionate of their support to the US team that they will be paying for their own tickets for their group to attend all the games.

But they also wait for support from the United States Embassy in Port Moresby to assist them in this endeavor.

“We will be paying for our own tickets to watch the USA teams matches and we are looking forward as well for the Embassy to assist us,”

In a statement to FIFA.com Sports Minister, Justin Tkatchenko said that the welcome given to all the 15 visiting teams was to show what Papua New Guineans are like.


Fans from Tokara and June Valley in Port Moresby welcoming
team USA.


 “We want to give warm smiles and love and affection to the countries that are coming here, a real PNG welcome.
“At the end of the day we want to show what the Pacific is all about and what we are trying to achieve with our sporting events.

“We want to be ambassadors of our country, and have our visitors go away and say, ‘What a wonderful country it is and what a wonderful people they are”, Tkatchenko said