Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed Papua New Guinea will field a team in the NRL from 2028 onwards as part of a new deal to support sports and development in the Pacific.
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00:00I'm delighted to announce the Australian Government is supporting a PNG team to join
00:05the National Rugby League competition from 2028. Rugby League is PNG's national sport
00:14and PNG deserves a national team. The new team will belong to the people of Papua New Guinea.
00:21It will call Port Moresby home and I know it will have millions, literally, of proud fans
00:29barracking for it from day one. Not just in PNG but I suspect many Australians as well will adopt
00:39the PNG team as theirs. What this is about isn't just the elite level,
00:45this is about the grassroots level, it's about economic development, it's about our relationship
00:51between our peoples and it provides, as sport often does, an opportunity for people to succeed
01:02not just in sport but in life. And that is why this partnership that we're announcing today
01:10isn't just about Papua New Guinea, it's also about our relationship with the Pacific.
01:16The partnership will support young people in the Pacific, girls and boys, women and men,
01:22to play rugby league with a focus on PNG but also on Fiji, Tonga and Samoa. It will complement our
01:30existing health and education programs in the Pacific and create new opportunities for women
01:36and girls to get involved too. This Pacific Rugby League partnership and my Government's support
01:42for a PNG team in the NRL shows we're serious about working with our Pacific partners,
01:50dare I say it, our Pacific family members, on the aspirations that we have.