Sport in

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 ...

is an important part of the national culture.

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea. Other popular sports include most

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

codes (like

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

)

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

, and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

. Other

Olympic sports Olympic sports are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2020 Summer Olympics included 33 sports; the 2022 Winter Olympics included seven sports. Each Olympic sport is represented by an Sports governing body, inter ...

are also gaining popularity, such as

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

and

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

Rugby league

is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea. Rugby league also holds the title as the ''national sport''. About 50% of the population under-20 play rugby league. Since 2010, the sport has been a mandatory part of the curriculum in all schools in Papua New Guinea. In a nation where communities are far apart and many people live at a minimal subsistence level,

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

has been described as a replacement for tribal warfare, as a way of explaining the local enthusiasm for the game (a matter of life and death).

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

Governor

Powes Parkop Powes Parkop (born 18 February 1962) is a Papua New Guinean lawyer and politician, from Manus Province. A former lecturer in Law at the University of Papua New Guinea, he is the current governor of Port Moresby and the National Capital District s ...

has described the role rugby league plays in bonding the nation's 800 disparate tribes and reducing crime, citing its "ability to impact positively on all walks of life in PNG". The annual Australian

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval ...

matches are the most watched sporting event of the year. Many Papua New Guineans have become instant celebrities by representing their country or playing in an overseas professional league. The West New Britain rugby league player,

Marcus Bai Marcus "George" Bai (born 11 October 1972) is a Papua New Guinean former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. An international representative er, he represented Papua New Guinea on numerous occasions including ...

, is a national celebrity after he formerly played for the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

with

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

and David Mead who hails from the Central Province he currently plays for the Brisbane Broncos and is considered one of Papua New Guinea's all-time greatest players. Even Australian rugby league players who have played in the annual (Australian)

clash, which is celebrated feverishly every year in PNG, are among the best-known personalities throughout the nation. The

Papua New Guinea national rugby league team The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team represents Papua New Guinea in the sport of rugby league football. In Papua New Guinea, Rugby League is a highly popular sport and is regarded as the country's national sport. The national side ar ...

, known as the '' Kumuls'', are ranked sixth in the world as of September 2023. The team usually plays against the

Australian national rugby league team The Australian National Rugby League Team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of the 'Northern Union game' in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian ...

each year in

. It is such a popular fixture, that thousands of people can't get into the ground once it's full, causing people to climb onto the stadium roof or up trees outside the ground in order to see the match. The limited capacity of the stadium for this fixture often sparks riots. Spectators clashed with riot police, during this fixture in 2006. A national competition, which used to be called the SP Inter-City Cup but now the Digicel Cup, was initiated in 1990. In 2022 it featured twelve teams from throughout PNG.

Australian rules football

has experienced considerable growth over the past decade, boasting the second highest number of players in the world (after Australia). Australian rules football was introduced by Australian soldiers during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but has gained popularity with the introduction of players at the top level into the

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

and

AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 1 ...

, including

Mal Michael Malcolm Robert Michael (born 24 June 1977) is a Papua New Guinean-born former Australian rules footballer. He is notable for his successful professional career in the Australian Football League. In a career spanning 238 games and three clubs ...

Hewago Oea Hewago Paul Oea (born 13 December 2001) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL). Oea is the first locally-developed Papua New Guinean and the first overseas developed ...

James Gwilt James Gwilt (born 11 August 1986) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played with the St Kilda Football Club and the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Gwilt's mother is from Papua N ...

Cam Ellis-Yolmen Cameron Ellis-Yolmen (born 28 January 1993) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, most recently playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL), having played for the Adelaide Football Club from 2014 until ...

Aiden Bonar Aiden Bonar (born 8 March 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He made his GWS debut in round 20 of the 2018 season scoring two goals in the 1 ...

Zimmorlei Farquharson Zimmorlei Farquharson ( ; born 27 April 2002) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for Brisbane in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Farquharson was born and raised in Dalby, Queensland to a mother from Papua New Guinea and an Australian father. ...

and

Alicia Janz Alicia Janz (born 25 May 1990) is a former Australian rules football and netball player who played in the AFL Women's competition and ANZ Championship. Early life Janz was born in Katherine, Northern Territory to a Papua New Guinean and Torre ...

. The

Papua New Guinea national Australian rules football team The Papua New Guinea national Australian rules football team (nicknamed the Mosquitos ( tpi, Moskitos) and for sponsorship purposes, the Telikom PNG Mosquitos) represents Papua New Guinea in the team sport of Australian rules football. It is on ...

(''The Mosquitos'') were crowned International champions in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, by defeating the previous title holders New Zealand. They also won in

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 ...

and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, thus having more titles than any other country as of 2023. Australia is not allowed to participate. AFL-PNG is the governing body of the sport in Papua New Guinea.

Cricket

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

has been traditionally most popular in Papua region, where the British had the most influence. On 8 November 2014

created history by beating Hong Kong in its first one-day international match after getting full one-day international status. In the 2013-14 World Twenty:20 Championship, the national team, known as the Papua New Guinea Barramundis, won the East Asia-Pacific qualifying zone competition in February 2013, beating

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

in the final. In the world qualifying competition in November 2013, PNG beat

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and the Netherlands (both significantly higher-ranked countries), but lost to tournament second-favourites

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and to

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

and finished eighth (giving the country an implicit world

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...

ranking of 18th). In January 2011, PNG finished second in World Cricket League Division 3, winning promotion to Division 2. In April they finished third in Division 2 after wins over

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. Thereby PNG ranks 19th in the world at 50-overs-a-side one-day cricket. In August 2012, PNG beat Test-playing country

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

to finish 14th in the under-19 World Cup. In October 2019 Papua New Guinea qualified for the

2020 ICC T20 World Cup The 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup was the seventh ICC Women's T20 World Cup tournament. It was held in Australia between 21 February and 8 March 2020. The final took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on International Women's Day. Hosts Aus ...

, after they won Group A of the qualifier tournament, finishing above the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

net run rate Net run rate (NRR) is a statistical method used in analysing teamwork and/or performance in cricket. It is the most commonly used method of ranking teams with equal points in limited overs league competitions, similar to goal difference in foo ...

. It was the first time Papua New Guinea had qualified for a World Cup in any format. Cricket is organised by the Papua New Guinea Cricket Board of Control, headquartered in

. The principal national competitions for men are the T20 Hebou Shield contest, played in April and May, and the 50-overs Hebou Shield played in May and June, competed for by six teams: a Colts team, and five organised on an "area of origin" basis - Northern Diggers, Western Hammers, Central Hearts, Southern Jets, and Central Lagoon Marlins. Each team also bears a sponsor's name. In 2013, Hebou Western Hammers won the 50-over competition, beating BSP Central Hearts in the final. Hebou Western also won the T20 league. The women's Hebou Shields, for 35 overs and for 20 overs leagues, were both won by Dulux Magic. Most cricketers play in

, particularly the

Hanuabada Hanuabada is a coastal village in Papua New Guinea in the outskirts of the nation's capital, Port Moresby. It is the biggest village in the Motuan tribe and is often known by its locals as "HB." Hanuabada means "big village" (''hanua'' "village" ...

area. There are local competitions in

Lae Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...

and in Central Province. In 2013,

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 ...

Province beat

Mount Hagen Mount Hagen ( tpi, Maun Hagen) is the third largest city in Papua New Guinea, with a population of 46,250. It is the capital of the Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea, Western Highlands Province and is located in the large fertile Wahgi Valley in ...

in the final to win the

Highlands Region Highlands Region is one of four regions of Papua New Guinea. Subdivision The Region is administratively divided into seven provinces: * Chimbu (Simbu) *Eastern Highlands * Enga *Hela * Jiwaka * Southern Highlands * Western Highlands See also * ...

Championship. Cricket is also organised in

Milne Bay Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, south-eastern Papua New Guinea. More than long and over wide, Milne Bay is a sheltered deep-water harbor accessible via Ward Hunt Strait. It is surrounded by the heavily wooded Stirling Range to t ...

and

Oro Oro or ORO, meaning gold in Spanish and Italian, may refer to: Music and dance * Oro (dance), a Balkan circle dance * Oro (eagle dance), an eagle dance from Montenegro and Herzegovina * "Oro" (song), the Serbian entry in the 2008 Eurovision S ...

Provinces, and on some of the islands. In the

Trobriand Islands The Trobriand Islands are a archipelago of coral atolls off the east coast of New Guinea. They are part of the nation of Papua New Guinea and are in Milne Bay Province. Most of the population of 12,000 indigenous inhabitants live on the main isla ...

, cricket was introduced in 1903, by Methodist missionaries, and has become a beloved sport. Cricket has become fused with the local culture, and the game is played with stones instead of a ball and unlimited fielders.

Rugby union

Papua New Guinea is a three tier

playing nation. They began playing international rugby union in 1966, and have yet to make the

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

. Teams from Papua New Guinea have competed in the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

. There are currently 8,520 registered players and 57 clubs. There are no registered senior female players. The national side is ranked 54th in the world (as of December 1, 2006).

Soccer

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

is also played in Papua New Guinea. The governing body for the sport in the country is 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 ...

which was established in 1962. Approximately 20,000 people play Football in Papua New Guinea and it is considered to be a popular sport for men and the single most popular sport for females. The national team are currently 193 in th
FIFA World rankings
The country's highest ranking was 160th in June 2004. Former Australian coach

Frank Farina Frank Farina OAM (born 5 September 1964) is an Australian football (soccer) coach and former player who played as a forward. His playing career spanned Australia, Belgium, France, Italy and England, and was a major player for the Australian ...

is the current coach of the national side. Formed in 2006, the PNG Telikom National Soccer League is the top division of Football in Papua New Guinea. The league comprises 8 semi-professional teams from across the country.

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 ...

from Port Moresby are the most successful club having won the domestic league every year since its inception and the

2009–10 OFC Champions League The 2009–10 OFC Champions League, also known as the 2010 O-League for short, was the 9th edition of the Oceanian Club Championship, Oceania's premier club football tournament organized by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), and the 4th seas ...

, which made Hekari United the first club outside Australia and New Zealand to win the tournament. It was also the first squad from the South Pacific to qualify for the

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

Basketball

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

is a popular sport in Papua New Guinea, especially among the youth. Many of the country's top professional players play in Australia. Papua New Guinea hosted the inaugural

2017 FIBA Melanesia Basketball Cup The 2017 FIBA Melanesian Basketball Cup was an international basketball tournament contested by national teams of the newly formed Melanesia sub-zone of FIBA Oceania. The inaugural edition of the tournament were hosted by Papua New Guinea from 2 ...

, where both the men's and the women's national teams won the titles.

Multi-sport events

Papua New Guinea has competed at fifteen editions of the

since

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

, winning fifteen medals in total (five gold, eight silver, two bronze). The nation has also competed at every

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

since

Montreal 1976 Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, with the exception of the widely boycotted

1980 Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

. It is yet to win a medal, and has never competed at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

.Papua New Guinea at the Olympics
''The Telegraph'' Papua New Guinea has competed at six

Summer Paralympic Games The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral ...

and no

Winter Paralympic Games The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. ...

as of 2022, with athlete

Francis Kompaon Francis Kompaon (born 16 January 1986 in Rabaul) is a T46 Papua New Guinean athlete. He represented Papua New Guinea at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, competing in athletics in the one hundred metre sprint, T46 category. With a time o ...

the country's only medallist, winning silver at

Beijing 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

Rugby league

Australian rules football

Cricket

Rugby union

Soccer

Basketball

Multi-sport events

Papua New Guinea sports stadiums

See also

References

External links