Sport in Papua New Guinea
Encyclopedia
Sport
is an important part of the national culture. Rugby League
is the most popular Sport in Papua New Guinea.
Other popular Sports include most Football
codes (Rugby League
, Rugby union
, Soccer and Australian Rules Football
), Cricket
, Volleyball
, Softball
, Netball
and Basketball
. Other Olympic
Sports are also gaining popularity including Boxing
and Weightlifting.
Rugby league
is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea. Rugby league also unofficially holds the title as the national sport. 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
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
Governor Powes Parkop
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
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
, is a national celebrity after he played for the National Rugby League
with Melbourne Storm
. Even Australian rugby league players who have played in the annual (Australian) State of Origin
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
, known as the Kumuls, are currently ranked 3rd in the world
. The team usually plays against the Australian national rugby league team
each year in Port Moresby
. 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.
The national competition is called the SP Cup and was initiated in 1990.
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
but has gained popularity with the introduction of players at the top level into the AFL
, including Mal Michael
and James Gwilt
.
The Papua New Guinea national Australian rules football team
(The Mosquitos) were crowned International champions in 2008
by defeating the previous title holders New Zealand
. In 2008, they also lead the international competition in overall medal placings, having previously won silver in both 2002 and 2005.
AFL-PNG is the governing body of the sport in Papua New Guinea.
is traditionally popular in Papua New Guinea where the British had the most influence. In the Trobriand Islands
, It was introduced in 1903 by Methodist missionaries, and has become a beloved sport. Cricket has become fused with the local culture and the game played with stones instead of a ball and unlimited fielders.
playing nation. They began playing international rugby union in 1966, and have yet to make it to the Rugby World Cup
. Teams from Papua New Guinea have competed in the Commonwealth Games
.
There are 8520 registered players and 57 clubs. There are no registered senior female players.
The national side is ranked 54th in the world (as of 1 December 2006).
.
In the FIFA
World Rankings for September 2008, Papua New Guinea
are joint 200th and last. The country's highest ranking was 160 in June 2004.
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
is an important part of the national culture. Rugby League
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
is the most popular Sport in Papua New Guinea.
Other popular Sports include most Football
Football
Football may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...
codes (Rugby League
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
, Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, Soccer and Australian Rules Football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
), Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, Volleyball
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.The complete rules are extensive...
, Softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, Netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
and Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. Other Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
Sports are also gaining popularity including Boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and Weightlifting.
Rugby league
.Rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea. Rugby league also unofficially holds the title as the national sport. 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
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
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
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
Governor Powes Parkop
Powes Parkop
Powes Parkop is a Papua New Guinean lawyer and politician. He is the current governor of Port Moresby and the National Capital District. He was elected to the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea in July 2007....
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
Rugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
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 Bai
Marcus Bai is a Papua New Guinean former rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. Primarily a winger, he played his final season in 2006 for English Super League team Bradford Bulls. He is the only man to win the World Club Challenge with three different clubs...
, is a national celebrity after he played for the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
with Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
. Even Australian rugby league players who have played in the annual (Australian) State of Origin
Rugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
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
Papua New Guinea national rugby league team
The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team represents Papua New Guinea internationally in the sport of rugby league football.In Papua New Guinea, Rugby league is highly popular and is regarded as the country’s national sport. The national side are known as the Kumuls...
, known as the Kumuls, are currently ranked 3rd in the world
RLIF World Rankings
The RLIF World Rankings is a ranking system for men's national teams in the sport of rugby league football. The teams of the member nations of the Rugby League International Federation, rugby league football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful...
. The team usually plays against the Australian national rugby league team
Australian national rugby league team
The Australian national rugby league team have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League, the Kangaroos' are ranked number one in the RLIF World Rankings...
each year in Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
. 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.
The national competition is called the SP Cup and was initiated in 1990.
Australian Rules Football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
has experienced considerable growth over the past decade boasting the second highest number of players in the world (after Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
). Australian Rules Football was introduced by Australian soldiers during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
but has gained popularity with the introduction of players at the top level into the AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, including Mal Michael
Mal Michael
Malcolm Roberto "Mal" Michael is a former Australian rules footballer. He is notable for his successful professional Australian Football League career. Following a career spanned 238 games and three clubs in two Australian states he is best known as a triple premiership full-back with the...
and James Gwilt
James Gwilt
James Gwilt is an Australian rules footballer for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League .-Early life:...
.
The Papua New Guinea national Australian rules football team
Papua New Guinea national Australian rules football team
The Papua New Guinea national Australian rules football team represents Papua New Guinea in the team sport of Australian rules football....
(The Mosquitos) were crowned International champions in 2008
2008 Australian Football International Cup
The 2008 Australian Football International Cup was the third time the Australian Football International Cup, an international Australian rules football competition, has been contested....
by defeating the previous title holders New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. In 2008, they also lead the international competition in overall medal placings, having previously won silver in both 2002 and 2005.
AFL-PNG is the governing body of the sport in Papua New Guinea.
Cricket
CricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
is traditionally popular in Papua New Guinea where the British had the most influence. In the Trobriand Islands
Trobriand Islands
The Trobriand Islands are a 450 km² archipelago of coral atolls off the eastern coast of New Guinea. They are situated in Milne Bay Province in Papua New Guinea. Most of the population of 12,000 indigenous inhabitants live on the main island of Kiriwina, which is also the location of the...
, It was introduced in 1903 by Methodist missionaries, and has become a beloved sport. Cricket has become fused with the local culture and the game played with stones instead of a ball and unlimited fielders.
Rugby union
Papua New Guinea is a tier 3 rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
playing nation. They began playing international rugby union in 1966, and have yet to make it to the Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
. Teams from Papua New Guinea have competed in the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
.
There are 8520 registered players and 57 clubs. There are no registered senior female players.
The national side is ranked 54th in the world (as of 1 December 2006).
Soccer
Soccer is also played in Papua New Guinea. The governing body for the sport in the country is the Papua New Guinea Football AssociationPapua New Guinea Football Association
The Papua New Guinea Football Association is the governing body of football in Papua New Guinea.-External links:* * at the FIFA website.* at OFC site...
.
In the FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
World Rankings for September 2008, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea national football team
The Papua New Guinea national football team is the national team of Papua New Guinea and is controlled by the Papua New Guinea Football Association....
are joint 200th and last. The country's highest ranking was 160 in June 2004.