Lae Football Soccer Association Updates

28/08/2026

LAE, PAPUA NEW GUINEA: On behalf of the Lae Football Association executive committee, our member clubs, and the entire football community of Lae, Morobe Province, I extend our warmest congratulations to the exceptional young talents from Lae who have been selected to represent Papua New Guinea at the upcoming OFC U-19 Men's Championship in Samoa, taking place from September 1st to 14th, 2026.⁣
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We are immensely proud to recognize the following players for earning their national caps:⁣
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✔️ 𝙅𝙖𝙧𝙪 𝙀𝙧𝙤𝙣⁣
✔️ 𝙉𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙪 𝙈𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙨⁣
✔️ 𝘿𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙙 𝙏𝙞𝙩𝙖⁣
✔️ 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝘽𝙞𝙡𝙡⁣
✔️ 𝙃𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙮 𝘽𝙞𝙡𝙡⁣
✔️ 𝙍𝙪𝙚𝙡 𝘼𝙥𝙞⁣
✔️ 𝘽𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙘𝙜𝙚 𝘽𝙖𝙨𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙪𝙘⁣
✔️ 𝙇𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙍𝙤𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙮⁣
✔️ 𝙒𝙖𝙮𝙣𝙚 𝙅𝙖𝙫𝙖⁣
✔️ 𝙍𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙚𝙡 𝙆𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚⁣
✔️ 𝙋𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙔𝙖𝙜𝙪𝙢⁣
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Your selection to the national squad is a testament to your hard work, dedication, discipline, and the talent cultivated right here in our local competitions and academies. Seeing so many of our homegrown players step up to the international level reinforces Lae’s standing as a powerhouse of football development in Papua New Guinea.⁣
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Wearing the Kapuls jersey is both a privilege and a significant responsibility. As you step onto the pitch in Samoa, remember the effort you put in to reach this milestone and the strong community standing behind you.⁣
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We wish you all and the PNG Team the very best for the tournament. Play with pride, passion, and sportsmanship, and represent Papua New Guinea and Lae City with honour on the big stage. Make us proud! ⁣
Go PNG!!🇵🇬🇵🇬⚽🏆⁣
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𝗥𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗥𝗮𝗺⁣
President, Lae Football Association

28/08/2026

🏆 QUALIFYING LOCATIONS FOR THE 2026 PNGFA CUP CONFIRMED

The Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA) has confirmed the four regional locations for the 2026 PNGFA Cup Qualifiers, set for September 28–30.

📍 Highlands: Mendi Soccer Association
📍 Northern: Madang Soccer Association
📍 Southern: Koupa Soccer Association
📍 NGI: Kimbe Soccer Association

The regional qualifiers will determine the teams advancing to the PNGFA Cup set for Lae in November.

22/08/2026

LFA U15 side pose for a pic.
The future of Lae and PNG Football coached by Garunng Zoriry Miapu .

20/08/2026

From Grassroots to the OFC Pro League: Rebuilding Football in Lae. 🟡🔵🟢 ⚽

ABC Radio Australia sits down with Lae Football Association (LFA) President Ronald Ram to discuss the exciting future of football in Papua New Guinea’s industrial hub.

With significant developments set to kick off this September, largely backed by DPM John Rosso and Lae City Authority and now a massive windfall of K500,000 from FIFA through the PNG Football Association, the foundation for local football is getting a massive boost.

President Ram highlights the extraordinary depth of raw talent in the region, recently on full display during the OFC Champions League in Fiji, where a young Lae City FC squad, made up entirely of LFA-grown players, stepped up onto the regional stage.

​Now, the vision is set on the ultimate horizon: steady, deliberate steps toward fielding a local club in the OFC Pro League.

​"The talent in Lae is undeniable, it's just about building the right pathway to take them all the way to the top."

🎧 Listen to the full interview by ABC Radio Australia.

15/08/2026

A story of resilience, commitment and hardwork..Hosea Sikoko.

FROM BUMBU COMPOUND TO THE OFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: HOSEA SIKOKO’S DREAM REALISED

By Sylvester Gawi in Fiji.

There is always a first time to step outside your comfort zone—to leave behind the familiar and take a chance on a dream that once seemed too big to achieve.

For 21-year-old Hosea Sikoko, that moment came in the biggest football opportunity of his young career.

Growing up in Lae’s Bumbu Compound, Sikoko knows what it means for young people to have dreams but face circumstances that can make those dreams appear distant.

Yet on the regional stage, wearing the colours of Lae City FC in the 2026 OFC Men’s Champions League, the young midfield defender proved that where you come from does not have to determine where you are going.

Sikoko, whose family roots stretch across Angoram in East Sepik, Morobe and West New Britain, earned a place in Lae City FC’s starting eleven—a moment that carried far more meaning than simply being named on a team sheet.

When Coach Valentine Nelson announced the starting lineup and Sikoko heard his name, emotions overwhelmed him - He cried.

For a young man who had battled his own setbacks, the moment represented sacrifice, resilience and a second chance.

Sikoko plays his domestic football for Asidua FC in the Lae Football Association and first represented Papua New Guinea at Under-19 level in 2024.

But his journey was interrupted in 2025 when illness kept him away from the Premier Soccer League.

Many young players might have struggled to find their way back after such a setback - Sikoko returned.

This year, he was recalled into the Lae City FC squad and given an opportunity to train and compete at the highest club level in the region.

Nelson saw enough in the young defensive midfielder to trust him with a starting role in the OFC Champions League.

“I am so grateful to the Lae City FC coaching staff and management for giving me this opportunity to play at an elite level in the region,” Sikoko said.

“I never thought I was this good to play after being away for the whole of 2025 due to illness.”

His story is bigger than football.

It is a reminder to young people growing up in settlements and communities across Lae and Papua New Guinea that circumstances can slow you down, but they do not have to define your destination.

From Bumbu Compound to the OFC Champions League, Sikoko has taken his first major step onto a bigger stage.

And for this young defender, the dream that once seemed too big is no longer a dream - it is happening.

Sikoko is one of several young players in the Lae City FC squad given the opportunity to test themselves against the best clubs in Oceania—a generation now being given a chance to prove that Papua New Guinea’s next football stars can come from anywhere.

Sometimes, all it takes is one opportunity.
And when that opportunity comes, you have to be ready to step outside your comfort zone.

🙏🟡🔵🟢🇵🇬🇫🇯

14/08/2026

MATCH DAY!!
🟡🔵🟢🇵🇬🇫🇯

13/08/2026

𝗣𝗡𝗚𝗙𝗔 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗦 𝗟𝗔𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗢𝗧𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟'𝗦 𝗔𝗠𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗣𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗦⁣
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𝗕𝘆 𝗦𝘆𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗮𝘄𝗶 𝗶𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗷𝗶⁣
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Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA) President John Kapi-Natto has thrown his support behind the Lae Football Association (LFA), praising its new leadership and ambitious plans to expand football development and improve facilities in Lae.⁣
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Kapi-Natto said PNGFA was excited to work with LFA president Ronald Ram and his executive, describing their vision as extending beyond football development within the association to the wider Lae community and the northern region.⁣
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“For us PNGFA, we are very excited to work with the LFA president and also his good executives,” Kapi-Natto said.⁣
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“I see that they have a vision of developing football not only in LFA alone but all throughout Lae City and the northern [region], and I am overjoyed.”⁣
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Kapi-Natto revealed that the PNGFA executive had allocated almost 𝗞𝟱𝟬𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 to the LFA to support development projects identified by the association.⁣
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He said the funding demonstrated PNGFA’s confidence in the new LFA administration and its commitment to working closely with Ram and his executives.⁣
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“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙉𝙂𝙁𝘼 𝙚𝙭𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙛 𝙖 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝙩𝙤 𝙇𝙁𝘼 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩, 𝙨𝙤 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙍𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙙 𝙍𝙖𝙢,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙.⁣
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“𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙟𝙤𝙗, 𝙨𝙤 𝙋𝙉𝙂𝙁𝘼 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙞𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙩.”⁣
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A key priority is expected to be the upgrading of football facilities in Lae, particularly as the condition of Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium and the distance of the PNGFA National Technical Academy at 11-Mile continue to present challenges for the sport in the city.⁣
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Kapi-Natto said improving a city-based facility could also help bring the Premier Soccer League (PSL) closer to the people of Lae.⁣
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“I think I heard from him that they are trying to upgrade the facility, which is a good plus because currently, due to the condition at Sir Ignatius Stadium and also the PNGFA Academy at 11-Mile being far, we want to bring the Premier Soccer League close to the heart of the city,” he said.⁣
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He said the proposed development would provide a major boost to football in Lae while creating a more accessible venue for top-level competition.⁣
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“For me as PNGFA president, I am excited to work with them,” Kapi-Natto said.⁣
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The endorsement comes as LFA’s new administration seeks to strengthen football development at grassroots and elite levels, with improved infrastructure seen as critical to creating a sustainable pathway for young players from Lae and the wider Morobe province.⁣
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For PNGFA, the partnership with LFA signals a renewed push to develop football infrastructure and competitions outside Port Moresby, while bringing elite football closer to communities where the sport already enjoys strong support.⁣
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🇵🇬⚽

11/08/2026

Hi team, if you could share this with your friends/ family and put on your own socials, our How to watch guide for the OFC Men’s Champions League: The tournament is being streamed on FIFA+ which is now accessible via the DAZN platform:

The 2026 OFC Men’s Champions League will be streamed live and free on FIFA+, delivered through the DAZN platform, giving fans around the world access to every match in the competition live from Fiji.

11/08/2026

Watch it live on FIFA+ via DAZN app.
🕛 5pm PNG Time

11/08/2026

The Lae Football Association family wishes Lae City FC the absolute best today as they take on Vanuatu’s Galaxy FC in their second Group B match!

​After both teams walked away equal in the group following last Sunday’s openers, this is officially the clash to watch! Having bowed out in the quarter-finals in previous campaigns, our boys are hungry to stamp their mark, break that record, and push all the way to the top.

​We are incredibly proud to see our powerhouse squad blending the unmatched experience of skipper Ronald Warisan, Langarap Samol, and Philip Steven with the explosive energy of our young PNG U19 and U16 national representatives.

​🎂 A Special Birthday Shoutout!

A massive congratulations to our young PNG U16 Captain, Mathew Sopo! After making a phenomenal OFC League debut last week at just 15 years old, he turns 16 today! What better way to celebrate your birthday than representing your country and city on the big stage? Happy Birthday, Sopo!

​This is a must-win clash today, boys. Leave it all on the pitch!

​Let’s go Lae City FC! 🟡🟢🔵👊🔥

​Ronald Ram
LFA President
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