Komara Gulf F.C., currently known for as PRK Komara Gulf for sponsorship reasons, and formerly as Erema Gulf F.C., is a professional football club representing the

Gulf Province A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

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 ...

. The club was outgoing champion of now-defunct

Papua New Guinea National Premier League The National Premier League was the flagship competition of the Football Federation Papua New Guinea (FFPNG). It was a semi-professional league. It was founded in 2017 after several clubs broke away from the Papua New Guinea Football Association ...

, having won the title in 2018.

History

Foundation and early years

In July 2014, it was reported that a side representing the

, under the name of Erema Gulf FC, had submitted an Expression of Interest ahead of the

2015 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League The 2015 Papua New Guinea National Soccer League season, known as the Telikom NSL Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the ninth edition of the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League. The title was won by Lae City Dwellers who won their first titl ...

. This was further boosted in October 2014 by a K45,000 payment from Petroleum Resources Kutubu, who would later go on to sponsor the team. However, their entry was not accepted. The following season, amidst an expanded field, the side successfully entered the competition, and were drawn into the Southern Conference. With

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 ...

winning every single match, there was a close battle for the second qualifying spot, with Erema falling three points short of Rapatona after three wins – against

FC Port Moresby FC Port Moresby is a semi-professional association football club based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Founded in 2012, the club competed three times in the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League until the league split in 2016. Their best r ...

, PS United and Gigira Amoana – two draws and five defeats, including 3–0 and 9–3 defeats to Hekari. The side eventually finished 4th in the Southern Conference.

League split

As part of the domestic league split, Erema broke away from the

Papua New Guinea Football Association The Papua New Guinea Football Association, PNGFA is the governing body of football (soccer) in Papua New Guinea. The PNGFA is a member of both FIFA and OFC, having FIFA and OFC affiliation in 1966 after being founded in 1962. The PNGFA is a mem ...

and joined the rebel ''Football Federation of Papua New Guinea'', and for two seasons took part in its flagship competition, the

National Premier League The National Premier League, also known for sponsorship purposes as the Red Stripe Premier League, is sanctioned by the Jamaican Football Federation as the top division for men's association football in Jamaica. Contested between 12 clubs, it ...

. The side were drawn into the Southern Conference and finished 3rd in the 2017 season, behind

and Papaka FC. In the 2018 season, the side were once again drawn into the Southern Conference, alongside Hekari,

Admiralty FC Admiralty Football Club, also commonly known as Admiralty FC, is a football club which plays in the Division 2 of the Singapore Football League, the third tier of football in Singapore. History Admiralty FC started off in 1987 as a participa ...

and Gigira Amoana. With the sides only playing each other once, a 2–1 victory over Hekari United on 24 February 2018 was enough to see the side top the Southern Conference and progress to the Grand Final. There, they defeated

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 ...

4–3 to claim their first piece of domestic silverware.

Return to NSL

In January 2019, it was confirmed that the side would be returning to the now reunited National Soccer League for the 2019 season, once again taking part in the Southern Conference, under a new name – Gulf Komara FC. Former international goalkeeper David Aua was named head coach. The club had a moderate season, remaining in contention to qualify for the playoffs until the penultimate matchday, when a 0–0 draw with FC Bougainville put them too far from their rivals. The club eventually finished 6th out of eight sides. The side were one of ten teams who took part in the 2019–20 National Soccer League, and they enjoyed a much more successful season, despite a sluggish start. They lost five of their nine games in the first half of the season, sitting sixth at the halfway stage, but key victories against playoff rivals FC Bougainville and Vitiaz United saw them in contention going into the final day, and a 5–0 victory over Star Mountain combined with results elsewhere going their way saw them rise to fourth and qualify for the playoffs at the last possible instance. They were drawn against Minor Premiers Lae City in the playoff semi-final and narrowly lost 2–1, while a 5–0 defeat to Hekari United in the third-place playoff saw them finish the season in fourth.

League history

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" , +Gulf Komara league history !Season !Div. !Pos. !Pld. !W !D !L !F !A !Pts. !Playoffs !OFC? , - , colspan="12" , National Soccer League , - , 2006 , colspan="11" rowspan="9" , ''did not enter'' , - , 2007–08 , - , 2008–09 , - , 2009–10 , - ,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, - , 2011–12 , - ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, - ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, - , 2015 , - , 2015–16 , NSL
(South) , 4th , 10 , 3 , 2 , 5 , 15 , 25 , 11 , colspan="2", ''did not qualify'' , - , colspan="12" ,

, - , 2017 , NPL
(South) , 3rd , 10 , 4 , 3 , 3 , 21 , 18 , 15 , colspan="2", ''did not qualify'' , - , 2018 , NPL
(South) , 1st , 3 , 2 , 1 , 0 , 5 , 3 , 7 , style="background-color:#FE2", Champions , ''did not qualify'' , - , colspan="12" , National Soccer League , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, NSL
(South) , 6th , 14 , 5 , 2 , 7 , 23 , 21 , 17 , colspan="2", ''did not qualify'' , - , 2019–20 , NSL , 4th , 18 , 8 , 1 , 9 , 27 , 28 , 25 , 4th , ''did not qualify''

Honours

National Competitions

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 ...

** Fourth: 2019–20 *

** Champions: 2018

References

Football clubs in Papua New Guinea Association football clubs established in 2015 2015 establishments in Papua New Guinea