Lae and Port Moresby to host 4th MSG Prime Ministers Football Cup

The fourth edition of the Melanesian Spearhead Group Prime Ministers Football Cup will be hosted in Lae and Port Moresby in November.

The draws released last week will have two matches played at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium in Lae November 16, while the venues in Port Moresby will be the PNG Football Stadium and the Sir John Guise Stadium

"We have decided that Lae will also host the games, the Deputy Prime Minister [John Rosso] wants Lae to be a part of the MSG Prime Ministers Cup with the new synthetic turf, so we are very excited about that," PNG Football Association President John Kapi Natto said.

The double header in Lae will see the PNG Gold take on New Caledonia in the men's and the PNG Gold ladies will play Solomon Islands.

The PNG Football Stadium in Port Moresby will play host to 10 games, of which 4 will be the finals. The Sir John Guise Outdoor Complex will host 8 fixtures, which include the grand finals for the men and women on November 22.

Kapi Natto said all three venues are being prepared for the MSG Prime Minister's Football Cup.

"We will be using the PNG Football Stadium and the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby so in one week time the two turfs will go through rehabilitation work."

Men's Pool A will have PNG Gold, New Caledonia and Solomon Islands, and the men's Pool B consist of Fiji, Vanuatu and PNG Red.

For the women's, Pool A has PNG Gold, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu, and the Women's Pool B has Solomon Islands, PNG Red, and Fiji.

The PNG senior men's football team, the PNG Kapuls, are reigning champions of the MSG PM's Cup, and will be playing to retain the title.

Kapi Natto also acknowledged the Melanesian Spearhead Group and the PNG government for their support in allowing women to be part of the tournament for the first time this year.