The Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA) has announced a 23-man PNG Kapuls squad who will participate in the 2024 Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Men’s Nations Cup from June 15th-30th in Fiji.
The OFC Nations Cup is a World Cup qualifier fixture played between the eight countries in the Oceania Region and they are: New Zealand (current champions), Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, and Samoa.
The PNG Kapuls team is composed of experienced players and a few debutantes. The team is a mixture of both PNG-based and overseas-based players. The presence of the seasoned campaigners and the youthful exuberance in the team balances the squad, building confidence among the players.
President John Kapi Natto, on behalf of PNGFA, acknowledged coach Warren Moon and the selectors for making the selection independently through merit basis.
“We want to say thank you to Warren Moon and the team that they’ve put together. We are convinced and believe that this is the best team they’ve selected to represent PNG in the OFC Nations Cup,” President Natto said.
“We know that seven other countries are also vying for the title to become the champions of the OFC Nations Cup, so we wish the Kapuls all the best.”
Under the leadership of Mr. Natto, he wants to stop the practice of meddling into the selection of the players and allow the coach and the selectors to do their assessment independently, and make selections accordingly.
Mr. Moon believes and has confidence in the players that they’ve assembled for the OFC Nations Cup. He emphasized on the fitness level of the players and those who met the criteria to be in the squad.
“One of the key areas that we have spoken about over the last few months was having a high-performance program and proving the fitness levels of the players,” coach Moon stressed.
“So, this squad now not only reflects the talent we’ve picked, but also the seriousness in which these players pushed themselves and got to the fitness level capable of playing in this national football.
“That’s been my consistent message to the players across the country who I’ve met and spoken with that if you want to be considered for your national team, you need to reach certain levels of fitness.
“We gave the opportunity to everyone over the last two or three months to get to that level. I think this is the fittest and best squad that we’ve selected.”
Meanwhile, the PNG Kapuls will leave for Brisbane on June 6th and stay there for a couple of days, and travel to Fiji on June 13th to take part in the OFC Nations Cup.
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