Michael Foster and Raymond Gunemba forged lengthy international careers with the Papua New Guinea Kapuls and now their daughters Vira Gunemba and Piwen Foster are hoping to follow in their footsteps.

The pair of 15-year-olds were in Auckland recently as part of the PNG U-16 women’s team that competed at the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship – Qualifying.

Raymond Gunemba missed team selection for the OFC Men’s Nations Cup and at the age of 38 it may spell the end of the striker’s illustrious career. But as the curtain closes on his career, his daughter’s is just opening.

Remarkably Vira only started playing football two years ago at the age of 13. Hailing from a football family where her grandfather Peter was a top local coach and her auntie, Meagen Gunemba, is PNG women’s co-captain, it comes as a surprise the young Vira only recently took up the sport.

(Photo Credit OFC Media Vira Gunemba (19) in action for PNG U-16 Women’s team against American Samoa)

“I competed in athletics when I was younger, and it was Susan (Watpore, the PNG U-16 assistant coach) who introduced me to football,” Gunemba said.

Watpore has been a mentor for Vira and has coached her over the past two years with players much older than herself.

“Susan has taken care of me and has taught me a lot about football.”

Vira’s family influence extends to her approach to the game. Just like Raymond and Meagen, young Vira is a striker, prolific goalscorer and her first priority is ‘scoring goals.’

Like Gunemba, Piwen Foster hails from a football family in Papua New Guinea. Originally from Manus and Morobe, Piwen is currently based in Rabaul in the East New Britain provence. Dad Michael first represented PNG at U-20 level in 2002 and made his senior debut the following year. His last international appearance was last year after a career spanning two decades with the national side including a spell as Kapuls captain.

He’s been a major influence on Piwen’s carer, since first introducing her to the sport aged 3.

“My dad encouraged me to play. He said if you want to play then you can play, you don’t have to follow in my footsteps but it’s your choice if you love playing.” Foster explained.

Piwen has spent many a Saturday watching her father play in the PSL (Premier Soccer League) and for the national team over the year and seeing him represent his country has been a huge motivator for her.

(Photo Credit OFC media-Foster and Gunemba singing the Papua New Guinea national anthem ahead of their match against Samoa at the OFC U-16 Championship -Qualifying in Auckland)

“Yeah, seeing him play for the country, I wanted to also represent my country and my dream has come true.” Piwen said.

For both young players, it was a memorable experience travelling to New Zealand for the first time and representing their country.

“The results have not been what we wanted (1-0 loss to American Samoa and an 11-0 thumping by Samoa) we are carrying our country’s name here and our fathers, so we have mixed feelings.” Gunemba said.

“It’s been great’ Foster added. “I’ve learned a lot of lessons, losing, I’ve learned that we could do better, build on some things and come back stronger next time. We should improve our communication skills because mostly on the field we had a lot of chances, but we didn’t put them away like we wanted to,” Foster lamented.

Last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand proved inspiring for both PNG players, with Foster saying her major goal is to win a Championship with PNG one day.