Unfortunately, there will be no AFL National Championships as planned for this year, instead the Papua New Guinea (PNG) AFL Commission has opted to hosting only the Regional Selection Trails to select new up and coming talents to form the senior men’s and women’s national teams.
AFL PNG Senior Football Operations Manager, Mr. Rex Leka, told PNG HAUSBUNG that the decision had to be made to switch to the region selections because of the cost factor surrounding the event.
“This is because for the regionals, it will be much easier for athletes to get to the centers to participate, and it will not be too costly.”
Mr. Leka said the Regional Selections will be conducted in three regions, starting with the Southern region in early May in Port Moresby, followed by Northern and Highlands Regions combined as one at the end of May, and the New Guinea Islands region in June.
The selections will go towards forming the train on squads for the Mosquitoes and the Flames in preparation for the Pacific Cup coming up in November in Gold Coast, Australia.
The Pacific Cup will be played this year instead of the International Cup 2024 (IC24). Once again this is due to the cost factor of having overseas teams fly in for the event in Australia.
Mr. Leka said the final PNG Mosquitoes and Flames National Teams will be announced either in August or September.