Besta Madang Fighters was a short-lived

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

semi-professional football club founded in 2007, based in

Madang Madang (old German name: ''Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen'') is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 (in 2005) on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century. Histor ...

. The club was founded as a new franchise ahead of the 2007–08 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League season, consisting predominantly from the local-level areas of the Madang province. The club finished 6th out of 7 sides that season, and failed to return the following season.

History

The club was founded shortly before the 2007–08 National Soccer League, and was the second Madang-based franchise to enter the competition after

Madang FC Madang Football Club, formerly known as Madang Flying Fox, Madang Niupetro Fox or simply Madang Fox, was a Papua New Guinea football club, based in Madang. The club was one of the founding members of the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League in ...

's debut the previous season. The franchise was created to allow players from local-level government areas of the Madang province to get a taste of semi-professional football. The team entered the second as one of two debuting teams, with the second being Rapatona FC, who had competed for years in the Port Moresby Premier League. Rapatona's experience was no match for the newcomers in the opening match of the season, and the Fighters went down 3–0. In their second game, they managed to hold champions

Hekari United Hekari United, formerly known as POM Souths, Souths United, PRK Souths United and Hekari Souths United, is a professional football club formed in 2006, based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The club holds the record for most titles in the Pa ...

to a thrilling 4–4 draw. However, they would not win a league game until the fifth round of fixtures, when they defeated fellow Madang side

3–2 thanks to a hat-trick from

Niel Hans Niel Hans (born 24 April 1988) is an international footballer for Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen St ...

. The side then endured a run of four consecutive defeats, including a 6–0 thrashing in the return fixture against Hekari, but would win their second game against title-chasing

Morobe FC Morobe United FC, formerly known as Blue Kumuls (1970s–2005), Shorncliffe Blue Kumuls (2005), Tuguba Laitepo Blue Kumuls (2006), Morobe Kumuls FC (2007), Gigira Laitepo Morobe FC (2008–2014, exc. 2011–12 season), Gigira Laitepo Central Coas ...

on 16 February 2008, unexpectedly winning 4–0 to shake up the title race. They would win twice more, completing the double over Madang FC with a 6–5 win later in February, before a 3–1 victory over

Welgris Highlanders Welgris Highlanders, formerly known as Welgris Momads, was a semi-professional Papua New Guinean soccer club based in Mount Hagen, but playing their home games in Goroka. They were one of five founding members of the Papua New Guinea National So ...

on the final day of the season. The side finished 6th in the table. In October 2008, it was reported that both Madang-based teams had been kicked out of the National Soccer League, with 'poor performance and lack of support, financial and otherwise' being the reasons cited. This would be the first and last time the side were seen in competitive action.

Domestic record

Papua New Guinea National Soccer League The KPHL National Soccer League, also known as the Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited National Soccer League for sponsorship reasons, is the men's top division of professional soccer in Papua New Guinea. It is a nationwide league formed in 2006 by ...

** 2007–08: 6th

References

Soccer clubs in Papua New Guinea Association football clubs established in 2007 2007 establishments in Papua New Guinea {{Oceania-footyclub-stub