The Australian Football League (AFL) 2023 National Championships is coming up this year and will be where new and young players will be selected to form the Papua New Guinea (PNG) national teams for the International Cup (IC) next year, but there is a challenge in this to overcome first. According to AFL PNG Senior Football Manager Mr. Rex Leka, the last IC took place in 2017 and since then the most of the players in the national teams, especially in the PNG Mosquitoes side that took home the title, have moved on and left spots to fill. “It will be a big task on hand for us now to train the boys and groom them to become the best in the national side because most of our experienced ones have moved on.” The pressure is on now because come next year in the IC24, PNG will be once again defending its title on the international stage against teams from other nations. Therefore, a good crop of players to play on the international stage, must be trained and ready for it. Meanwhile, Mr. Leka also confirmed that the AFL PNG team will be meeting this afternoon to put together the plan to host the national championships in the country. A finalized schedule is expected by the end of the week.