PORT MORESBY – Papua New Guinea’s Football Association’s baby product, the National Soccer League (NSL) is becoming a breeding ground for foreign clubs targeting up and coming football talent.
Four players – Kema Jack, David Muta, Tau Winnie and Ila Ilaita Jr. – have all signed for foreign clubs since taking their talents to the domestic stage in Papua New Guinea’s National Soccer League (NSL) and international age group competitions and a fifth is already on his way.
Now NSL Operations Manager Edward Tauoli believes the Papua New Guinea NSL is set to boom onto the Oceania scene as one of the region’s preminant domestic football competitions.
“The NSL has just finished its second season but is gaining bigger publicity and popularity in the Pacific.
This is very evident when overseas clubs are looking into Papua New Guinea for our NSL football players to play for their clubs.
This is what the current management of PNGFA under the leadership of Mr. David Chung has introduced NSL for”.
“PNGFA’s NSL is the highest level of football competition played in the country where the standard of football played is improving all the time as the league gets more competitive.
The league is also used by PNGFA as a tool for professional player development in the country”.
These were the happy words of NSL operations manager Edward Tauloi after seeing five PNG NSL players win the opportunity to play abroad.
He added that NSL is doing a fine job for football development in PNG and the NSL Organising Committee and PNGFA are very proud of it.
“This is what we have been waiting for and wanting to see happen and we will continue to make more PNG players get the abroad exposure”, he said.
Now we feel that we have a big improvement in PNG soccer which has never occured this fast before.
Bringing PNG soccer to this level has been thought and talked about in the past but nothing has actually eventuated. However, now under this administration you see real development happening to the game at this level.
He said through the introduction of NSL within the country, PNG players will have a bigger opportunity to gain exposure overseas and take their PNG-honed football talents to other countries.
So far, two Hekari players were signed by Sunshine Coast FC of Queensland and three Gelle Hills Football Club players signed for three different Australian football clubs after stand-out performances at the OFC Men’s Olympic Football Tournament and NSL.
This is one of the goals of the NSL and we’ve started to achieve it. After the next two to three seasons, we will see more players being exported by our NSL clubs which can only help develop Papua New Guinea football at a domestic and international level.
Tauloi said this is creating a pathway for our NSL to become a professional league and that he wanted to call on all NSL franchise clubs to continue to work hard to ensure the rate of improvement continued.
He said the third NSL season is starting in November 2008 and franchise clubs must start on preparations now instead of last minute work.
Tauloi said other Oceania nations regarded the Papua New Guinea NSL as one of the fastest developing football competitions in the region with foreign players – particularly from the Solomon Islands – making a big impact on the competition’s first two seasons.
“NSL franchises must try to professionally manage their clubs and make sure discipline must always be there to produce very good players and results both on and off the field”, he said.
Tauloi said coaches from other countries have gained a lot of experience from the NSL.
“Look at Hekari United FC coach Jerry Allen. Jerry is from the Solomon Islands and recently had a hand in Marist FC’s 3-0 defeat of Kossa FC – arguably the most powerful non-New Zealand club in the OFC O-League."
Tauloi said we are very proud to see that a foreign coach such as Jerry can use his experience in the Papua New Guinea NSL then can go back to his own country and defeat one of the most powerful teams in the OFC O-League.
Jerry Allen has added tremendous value to the Papua New Guinea NSL as well.
Story reproduced courtesy of www.pngfootball.com.pg and PNGFA