A total of 36 finalists have been officially announced for the highly anticipated 2025 SP Sports Awards (SPSA), celebrating excellence across Papua New Guinea’s sporting landscape.
The announcement was made today in Port Moresby by Mr. Warwick Vele, Chairman of the SP Sports Awards Selection Panel, praising the depth of talent and commitment shown by nominees from across the country.
“This year, we were pleased to see a strong level of interest and participation in the nomination process. A total of 210 nominations were received across all categories 135 submitted online and 60 submitted in hard copy, with 15 of those hard copy nominations received without supporting documents. Please note that those 15 were included in the overall total,” said Vele.
“While this is slightly fewer than what we received last year, it nonetheless reflects continued public trust in the SP Sports Awards as a meaningful platform to acknowledge excellence in sport. It also reminds us that quality always matters just as much as quantity, and the pride Papua New Guineans take in celebrating their sporting heroes remains as strong as ever.”
“One notable highlight this year was the Male Athlete of the Year category, which received the highest number of nominations across all categories. We recorded a total of 49 nominations, 44 submitted online and 5 in hard copy, reflecting the vast talent and competition among our male athletes in 2024,” he added.
He emphasized that the vetting and selection process is a serious task where each nomination is carefully reviewed and discussed at length.
“We followed a fair and transparent process, guided by the strict criteria set out for each award category. It gives me great pleasure to officially announce the finalists for the 2025 SP Sports Awards.”
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CATEGORY
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FINALIST
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SPORT
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Male Athlete of the Year
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Morea Baru
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Weightlifting
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Josh Tarere
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Swimming
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Alivin Komolong
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Soccer
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Female Athlete of the Year
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Leonie Beu
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Athletics
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Thelma mea Toua
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Weightlifting
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Adrine Monagi
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Athletics
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Carbine Club: Team of the Year
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PNG Mosquitoes
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AFL
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PNG Kurakums
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AFL
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PNG Lewas
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Cricket
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Brands Pacific: National Performance of the Year
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Valley Hunters
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Rugby Union (7s)
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Alotau Womens 3×3 Basketball
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Basketball
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Iraqi Pirates
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Rugby Union (7s)
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Community Sports Initiative
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Roland Muluyaru – Soccer Kick
Out Home Brew
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Soccer
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Jason Lahui – Chess in the Hood
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Chess
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Special Olympics PNG
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Multi-Sport
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Coca-Cola Europacific
Partners PNG: Junior Male Athlete of the Year
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Gaba Frank
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Cricket
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River Jordan Hakena
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Tennis
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Allan Sevara
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AFL
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Coca-Cola Europacific
Partners PNG: Junior Female Athlete of the Year
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Timonaliz Alarcos Kriebisch
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Squash
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Colita Hakena
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Tennis
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Ani Geua Gavera
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Weightlifting
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CPL: Para-Athlete of the Year
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Manega Tapari
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Badminton
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Haoda Agari
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Table Tennis
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Regina Edwards
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Athletics
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Trukai Industries Ltd: Sports Official of the Year
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Edward Kassman
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Taekwondo
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Victor Sarwom
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Rugby
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Nelson Stone
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Athletics
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Trukai Industries Ltd: Sports Media of the Year
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Jamie Haro
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Sunday Chronicle
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Michael Philip
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The National
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EMTV Sports Scene
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EMTV Sports Scene
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Sports Photo of the Year
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Lone Child – Tony Haro
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Crossfit Rope – Sibona Kala
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Denied Allyoop Basket – Brenda M Kariko
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Stan Joyce Awards
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1. Pacific Industries Ltd
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2. ExxonMobil PNG
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3. Moni Plus Ltd
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The announcement of the finalists also signals the official opening of public voting for the People’s Choice Award, the 13th category in this year’s SP Sports Awards.
The winner of the People’s Choice Award is selected through a public vote, using the SP Sports Awards SMS and WhatsApp voting platform. The more votes a finalist gets, the more chances of them winning.
Candidates for this category come from four finalists of the following:
- Male Athlete of the Year
- Female Athlete of the Year
- Team of the Year
- National Performance of the Year
Voting for the People’s Choice Award category will close on 30th May 2025. The Presentation Night will be held at the home of the SP Sports Awards, Crown Hotel on Saturday 14th June.
The awards night will be live streamed on the SP Sports Awards Facebook page and broadcasted live on FM100.