OCEANIA FOOTBALL CONFEDERATION  MEDIA RELEASE                                  

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) delegation arrived in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea to a warm welcome before OFC President Temarii outlined his hopes for the forthcoming OFC Congress and impending visit by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter.

OFC President Reynald Temarii told the press gathering that Papua New Guinea represented just over half of the OFC's total population therefore OFC initiatives such as the Kila Kila mini-pitch made logical sense in assisting the long term development of both football at a grassroots level and helping address key social issues.

This is the first time that the OFC has invested money in the construction of an artificial playing surface for children and is part of a holistic OFC development programme. OFC President Temarii said that it would be the pilot for a series of similar OFC initiatives that will take place throughout the pacific region.

"We asked the people of Papua New Guinea what they wanted and the message they gave us was clear - football pitches."

Temarii said the need to grow local heroes for the game in Papua New Guinea started at the grassroots. "Everybody knows who Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Zidane is; but we need local stars to shine in the game in Papua New Guinea. To do this, Papua New Guinea needs a strong development programme through the schools for the kids."

Temarii said development at the elite level of the game was vital and that OFC would work closely with Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA) President David Chung toward improving the standards of Papua New Guinea's semi-professional league and help arrange more international fixtures by 2008.

"OFC has already shown its commitment to elite development with the co-operation agreements signed with The FA and Football Federation Australia that will play an active role in Fiji and Solomon Islands. We hope to continue this with the PNGFA", Temarii said.

Papua New Guinea Minister for Community Development Dame Carol Kidu said the activities of OFC in building the Kila Kila mini-pitch were welcomed and helped highlight to the world some of the issues facing the people such as poverty and HIV/AIDS.

Other members of the OFC delegation will arrive in Papua New Guinea over the next 24 hours with the widely anticipated FIFA delegation scheduled to touchdown in Papua New Guinea on Wednesday 17th January at 4.40pm local time.

 

Preparations for the arrival of the FIFA President were at an advanced stage with anticipation growing with football news dominating the sports pages of the local Papua New Guinea media.

The OFC Congress is scheduled for Thursday 18th January at the Crowne Plaza Hotel commencing at 9.00am. A press conference featuring both OFC and FIFA delegations is scheduled for 11.00am also at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.