Papua New Guinea’s sports minister has signalled his desire for the NRL’s historic expansion team to be granted a place on the world stage when they enter the competition in 2028, saying it would seize the imagination of a generation in the developing Pacific nation.
Kinoka Feo flew into Las Vegas on Thursday (Friday, AEDT) for meetings with Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and to take in the round-one double header and English Super League game at Allegiant Stadium.
A PNG Chiefs match at Allegiant Stadium would be huge for the nation, sports minister Kinoka Feo says.Credit: Monique Westermann/Getty
He told this masthead Wayne Bennett would be an ideal inaugural coach of the incoming team, named the Chiefs, and moved to allay concerns that footballers would be mostly confined to an accommodation compound, saying the government planned to rejuvenate downtown Port Moresby so that players could move around freely.
PNG will have its own NRL team as part of a 10-year, $600 million sports diplomacy package delivered by the Albanese government and leaders there believe it will unite and transform the country of 12 million people.
With the NRL midway through a five-year contract to open its season in Las Vegas and exploring a global round with additional matches around the world, Feo is eager for the Chiefs to be involved.
“Obviously, they will want the best from within the NRL but for Papua New Guineans, coming to the world stage would be something huge,” he said.
PNG Sports Minister Kinoka Feo at Resorts World in Las Vegas.Credit: Chris Barrett
“It would stir the imaginations of our young people. It would be something to look forward to. Just to get them to a place like Las Vegas or anywhere else on the world stage would be an inspiration for young people.”
The sports minister said he was meeting with V’landys and Abdo to discuss timelines on tasks for which the PNG government was responsible, such as an upgrade to the national stadium, security, hotels and transportation.
He is in Las Vegas along with Chiefs CEO Lorna McPherson and general manager Michael Chammas, a former rugby league journalist with the Herald, who are assigned with building the club from the ground up including identifying a head coach and signing players.
Two potential coaching options are in Las Vegas – Willie Peters, whose world champions Hull KR take on Leeds in the first match on the program here, and Brad Arthur, who oversees their weekend rivals Leeds.
Rugby league is the national sport in Papua New Guinea.Credit: NRL Photos
Feo said he would leave it for management and the NRL to decide, but liked the idea of luring Bennett to Port Moresby. The 76-year-old South Sydney coach has indicated the job is not for him at his age but V’landys has made clear he would leap at having the master coach associated with the team if he wanted to be.
Bennett’s brother is a former coach of PNG’s national team, the Kumuls. “So whenever the Kumuls went to play in Australia they would camp at the Brisbane Broncos training ground,” the minister said.
“I think [Bennett] is adventurous. He wants to try something new. I’m not sure what the board and the NRL will think but from my point of view and the government’s point of view we want the best person who can help our team not just come and compete but also make it the finals. We’re open to anybody but the best person for the job. ”
Players, coaching staff, management and other staff are expected to initially live in a gated apartment complex near the airport in the PNG capital as the team prepares to join the NRL before a potential shift to Port Moresby’s waterfront.
The incentive of tax-free money is being used to draw recruits to what will be the league’s 19th club, but Feo said there were other enormous benefits too in PNG, where rugby league is the No.1 sport.
Asked his message for players considering moving there, he said: “They [will] treat you like a king. You won’t get that reception back in Australia. You’ll be valued and supported like you’ve never felt before. And the impact they will have on the community will be huge.
“You are giving purpose, you are giving direction to the young people. Once we get the team in we are trying to piggyback on that to deal with a lot of issues we have in the country.”
The minister insisted security issues were exaggerated and most violence occurred between tribal enemies, but added: “We will do anything and everything in our means to make sure they are safe”.
“We want to make sure the downtown area accessible for NRL players but not just that, the entire population,” he said. “We want to tidy up the whole place so they are free to move around.”
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