1 Sep 2022

Demaine says ousting as PNG football coach makes no sense

11:51 am on 1 September 2022

PNG football coach Nicole Demaine says she is perplexed at her axing by the country's football bosses.

Demaine's contract finishes on November 1 and will not be renewed.

Nicole Demaine on the left at a training session

Nicole Demaine on the left at a training session Photo: PNG FA

It comes after ten players who helped PNG win the recent Oceania Nations Cup were ditched from the squad to face Solomon Islands later this month.

Demaine told the Post Courier the decision makes no sense to her at all.

She said she has far more experience than the PNG Football Association is making out, and that she has all the necessary coaching qualifications.

Demaine has been a member of FIFA's technical study group at an Under-20 World Cup and has run coaching workshops for the Oceania Football Federation and FIFA for more than a decade.

PNG Football Association president John Kapi Natto didn't explain the reasons for the move to the paper, but said they have been given to Demaine.

National team players were said to be emotional at being told the decision by Demaine personally.

And some players have told other media in PNG that they are very unhappy with the decision and that Demaine is a coach and a mother to them.

Papua New Guinea play in the Intercontinental Play-off in February with three spots at the Women's World Cup 2023 up for grabs.