The PNG National Soccer League is eager for its next matchday; the two-national powerhouses will face each other in one of the most interesting matches of Oceania in the year so far. Lae City will take on Hekari United at Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium, Lae – a rematch from the national league final in 2019 where Lae City ended up with the title after beating Hekari in the penalty shootout.
The fans all over Papua New Guinea are complaining regarding the poor media coverage of the matches: the fans and independent media do not have official access to team sheets, match results and stats from the FA and surely the matches are not streamed or telecasted national-wide.
Currently, only Tusbab Stallions from Madang is making a big effort to stream their home matches at Laiwaden Oval in partnership with a local TV station – differently from what happens in the matches in all other venues, Lae, Port Moresby and Goroka.
Both Lae and Hekari had their matches of OFC Champions League streamed in the last month; despite not proceeding to the knock-out stage, both sides are still at the top of PNG National Soccer League battling direct for the 1st spot in the standings.
The interest in the national-derby is high among all football fans and media in the country and in the region: Hekari United and Lae City have foreign players in their squads, what would increase the interest in the match from even outside Papua New Guinea.
For the development of the game in the country and to keep increasing the interested in football, It is pretty important to have this match with a big coverage, well marketed and attracting new fans to the game – to inspire the young generations to follow the steps of players as David Muta, Koriak Upaiga and Raymond Gunemba, or make their eyes shine with the quality of players as Vinicius Reis from Brazil, the midfielder of Hekari United.
Oceania Football Center continues to focus its efforts to popularize the sport in Papua New Guinea and Oceania, providing the most important news, results and interviews our media group can have access. We are indepently maintaining the standings, full results and top scorers of the season updated in the PNG NSL session in this website – but, of course, it would be much better for all journalists and fans to be able to watch the live match to make its own analysis and keep football running in the region.
Oceania Football Center 