NRL Bid on board with APNG
EPHATA SAMUEL- Post Courier, PNG
THE PNG NRL Bid took off to a flying start with Airlines PNG becoming the first corporate citizen to support Papua New Guinea’s bid for an NRL place in Australia.
APNG will be the official airline and the partnership with the NRL Bid team headed by Minister for Sports and Minister for State Assisting the Prime Minister and Bid chairman, Philemon Embel will strengthen the Bid’s position to secure an NRL licence.
The airline’s commercial manager Colin Whelan said: “We fully support this great ‘National impact project’ of the PNG Government and are proud to be part of a sporting initiative that so many Papua New Guineans are passionate about and will enjoy.”
He said the sponsorship is worth K300,000 per year for the next three years. “This sponsorship will cover everyone supporting the Bid, including travel of PNG juniors and seniors teams around the country and overseas and bringing NRL coaches into the country,” Whelan said.
He added Airlines PNG will carry the Bid message throughout the country and beyond. “It will enable the Bid teams’ rugby league identities and the community development team to work extensively in all communities in PNG,” he said.
NCD Governor Powes Parkop, who is a member of the NRL Bid team, welcomed Airlines PNG’s support to the NRL Bid.
“On behalf of the chairman of the Bid team Mr Philemon Embel, I am delighted that Airlines PNG is the first corporate entity to come on board in a partnership that will see a strong Papua New Guinean company exposed on the international stage in unison with our bid for an NRL licence,” Parkop said. “The PNG NRL Bid is for everyone in the country and Airlines PNG can connect us to everyone,” he said.
He said the airline had been operating in PNG since 1987 and is owned by the people of Papua New and serves more domestic ports in the country and is rapidly expanding. “The airline has demonstrated its staying power and the development of this partnership will help ensure the people’s dream to have a PNG NRL team,” he said.
He said that over the next couple of weeks, more companies will come on board to support this bid. “We expect more sponsorship announcements over the next few weeks to support the National Government’s initiative because when the licence is granted, it becomes a privately run entity and we are happy Airlines PNG is the first,” Parkop said.
