Papua New Guinea prepares for FIFA Under 20 Women’s World Cup hosting

With Papua New Guinea set to host the FIFA Under 20 Women's World Cup in 2016, preparations are advancing for the venues that will host games during the tournament.

Awarded in March, games are likely to be played at the Sir John Guise Stadium, the National Football Stadium (formerly known as Lloyd Robson Oval) and the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium in Port Moresby, along with stadiums in the towns of Lae and Kokopo in New Britain.

The tournament will run over 20 days in November 2016 and will bring around 1,000 players and officials to Papua New Guinea as well as spectators.

Teams from 16 countries will be take part in the tournament drawn from the six confederations that make up global football.

These will be four teams of European countries, two teams from Oceania countries including Papua New Guinea, three from the Caribbean and North America, three Asian countries and two from South America and two from Africa.

Commenting on the FIFA Under 20 Women’s World Cup coming to PNG shortly after the announcement of its successful hosting bid, Prime Minister Peter O'Neill stated "Papua New Guinea will proudly host the rising stars of global soccer at our world-class football facilities," the Prime Minister said following the FIFA announcement.

"Being awarded the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in 2016 is a major victory for Papua New Guinea as a country that can host world events.

"This is the first time in our history for a major world tournament to be held in Papua New Guinea and it will attract a lot of interest from around the world.”

The Sir John Guise and Sir Hubert Murray Stadiums were recently used for the Pacific Games and, while not completed for this year’s Pacific Games, construction of the National Football Stadium is nearing an end date with the ground is expected to be fully operational in February 2016, in time for next year’s PNG rugby league pre-season competition which begins in March.

A FIFA delegation visited the National Football Stadium recently and was impressed with the design and quality of the facility but advised of a list of requirements to meet all their standards and these have been incorporated into the stadium construction and design.

An organising committee for the FIFA Under 20 Women’s World Cup has recently been established, with unput from the President of the Papua New Guinea Football Association, David Chung and Isaac Lupari, Chairman of the PNG National Soccer League.

Image: The Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby.

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