PNG Football Association Executive Committee has now officially announced the cancellation of the remainder of the 2021 Kumul Petroleum Men’s National Soccer League season.
In a statement to all teams and stakeholders including sponsors, the PNGFA Competition Director Roosje Suwae said the resolution was reached and endorsed by 14 franchises clubs to cancel this year’s competition and thereafter approved and endorsed by the PNGFA Executive Committee.
Considering the surge in the current Covid-19 Pandemic, PNGFA Exco unanimously voted in support of the resolution to cancel the Games for the reasons mentioned below;
• Increase in current Covid-19 surges in the country;
• The two Provinces which play host to the Conference League are both categorized as High Risk Provinces and are under restriction whereby all sports are suspended indefinitely;
• Deputy Controller will only allow competition to return if all players and officials are vaccinated;
• Majority of the players and officials refuse to get vaccinated;
• Clubs raised concern that the costs of the Covid-19 Rapid Diagnostic Test was too expensive if this will be an option of returning to the competition; and
• Clubs not being able to keep players if competition was to be deferred indefinitely as it is costly keeping players in a camp.
The Executive Committee recommend also that the Competitions Department recognize and declare Lae City FC in the Northern Conference and Hekari United FC in the Southern Conference as equal winners in the respective conferences as these two clubs currently sit on the top of the point table in the respective conferences
The Executive Committee recommends that the nomination for representation shall be done in close consultation with the Office of the General Secretary, the Competitions Director and Oceania Football Confederation Competitions Department.
It would mean that the winner of these two teams will be eligible for the one spot available for PNG at the 2022 OFC Champions League.