Papua New Guinea will toss its hat in the ring along with several other nations for the biennial event. PNGFA president David Chung said the decision on the bid winner would be made in December.
The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup was first played in 2002 and the last one was held this year in Canada. Germany beat Nigeria 1-0 in the final.
Zimbabwe and South Africa withdrew from the bidding process for the 2014 event allowing Canada to win hosting rights this year.
Chung said FIFA required a letter of guarantee from the government of the bidding nation as well as other relevant documents.
The winning bid nation automatically qualifies for the tournament. If Papua New Guinea is successful, it will become the first Pacific Island nation, not including Australia and New Zealand, to host a FIFA-sanctioned World Cup in the 11-a-side women’s game.
The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is a 16-team event.
The PNGFA, with the help of the O’Neill government, must convince FIFA that Papua New Guinea will be ready and able to host a tournament of such magnitude.
Port Moresby will have the infrastructure by that time owing to its Pacific Games development but faces a challenge as a FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup cannot be hosted in just one city. The PNGFA will move to develop venues in other towns and cities.
Lae, Kokopo and even Wewak have been touted as potential venues.
Chung said hosting the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will put Papua New Guinea on the football world map and present opportunities for exposure and recognition of the nation’s female players who have always ranked highly in Pacific football.
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