World Footy News

The Regional Junior Football Championships were held last month in the Highlands of PNG. The Highlands are one of the four current “talent” regions in PNG. These are Highlands, Islands, Northern and Southern.

As part of the AFLPNG National Talented Player pathway, local championships are held in each region before the Nationals which will be held in Lae during September. The Nationals in Lae will consist of 27 teams across 4 divisions – Boys under 13s, 15s, and 17s and Girls under 15s.

For major tournaments like these to be successful it needs many committed people to see through the vision to fruition. In the Highlands perhaps the most important of these is Reverend Moses Kar (pictured next to the trophy table below) who runs proceedings.

He oversees all the Highlands, who were the strongest region in 2008, including Mt Hagan and Goroka. The Reverend also does the Life Skills training for AFLPNG with the kids with a focus on AIDS/HIV prevention as part of his scope. Andrew Cadzow, Oceania’s Regional Development Manager, knows him well and refers to him as a ‘true pioneer’.

The regional championships in Mt Hagen (Highlands) were played in torrential rain over two days but were a lot of fun nonetheless.