Local Australian Football League (AFL) players will have the chance to represent the country in the national teams when the PNG AFL Commission hold the national championships next year to select potential players for the teams.
According to the AFL Senior Football Operations Manager, Mr. Rex Leka, the selections for the train on squads for both the male and female teams should make way for the teams to participate in the 2023 AFL International Cup in Australia.
Mr. Leka said the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the selections in the past two years with competitions having to postponed or even cancelled in some regions.
“Basically for the outside centres, most of the competitions were in the high risk regions and they had to cancel the competitions when the National Control Centre issued out the measures and instructions, “said Mr. Leka
Nevertheless, the AFL body is looking at hosting the national championships in 2022.
Even with the pandemic still on they are optimistic about things ahead and will be looking at applying different formats of the game and to also ensure matches are played under strict health protocols.
He added that a previous list of the train on squads was put together in 2019 in anticipation of the International Cup set for 2020, but due to covid-19 in the following year, that list has been disregarded and a new one must be made.
