The PNG Sports Foundation (PNGSF) officially launched the Go Rural to Go Global (GRtGG) program in Hood point of Hula village in the Central Province on the 8th June 2023 to change the landscape of sports through the development of junior athletes with basic soccer drills. The program is sectioned in 4 parts which is focused to target children from the age of 6 to 16 years old and will be piloted in selected parts of the country. The GRtGG program is in 4 parts: 1. Sports Talent Development to Increase Participation. 2. Balanced Nutrition for Physical and Mental Development to full potential. 3. Sports Development drives Discipline, Obedience, Confidence, Self-Esteem and Determination to Succeed. 4. All these drive Academic Performance so children do well in school and Raise their Standards in Education. PNGSF Executive Director Albert Veratau, the man who initially thought out the concept, is adamant that this country needs strategic interventions to chart out a new direction for our future generation and sport is doing its part with the GRtGG initiative. “This is a holistic program. We want to shape the behavior and attitude of our future young generation to be doing the right things, and it is more effective when we start this at the earliest age possible.” Veratau said that the program’s primary focus was to produce a more skillful sports population over the next decade and beyond so that this can increase the chances of PNG’s developing into impacting world class sportsmen and women. Meanwhile, Central Provincial Administrator Mr. Francis Koaba urged parents and their kids especially to promote healthy living by taking part in sports as they charter to promote sports and healthy living as this is a good step in the right direction. “Just like the Central Dabaris Junior program that is currently running, we want to build our junior players to senior players.” “This is a potential program that we can use to neuter the talents that we have in the rural areas.” PNGSF Sports Operations & Development Director Peter Chalapan said, to have well-skilled and disciplined athletes, grooming them at a very young age needs to start. “We must invest in the juniors. We want to develop their basic skills in a way of having fun through the soccer drills.” “Currently, we have visited 7 schools and registered over 600 plus students for this program.” He said, sports can be a tool to assist in addressing cross-cutting issues like law & order and aims to increase student attendance which is important as PNGSF stays connected to many of the Government’s development plans.