Sport in Papua New Guinea
Traditional games in Papua New Guinea were played by the Aboriginal people before colonization. The games are very treacherous since they mostly involve spears but they are trying to re-establish these sports with more safety. Fore example using tennis balls instead of spears in Battendi, one of the Aboriginal Games. Originally, it was a spear-throwing game and the winner was the one who can throw the farthest. Another traditional game was called Bubberah and is played with a boomerang. The Goomboobooddoo, is a wrestling game involving two families with greases on their bodies. The goal here is to take down most of the men from the opponent’s family.
Unlike in many other countries where football is very popular, in Papua New Guinea, Rugby League is very famous and is said to be their national sport. The sport itself has been part of the educational curriculum to be practiced by the children. Its national team, Kumuls, ranked 4th in the world and Marcus Bai was the most notable rugby player of Papua New Guinea, where as a winger, he represented his country on numerous games and in the 1995 Rugby League World Cup.
With the popularity of the sport, the country, since then held an annual competition called Papua New Guinea National Rugby League Competition. It was established in 1990 with Port Morseby Vipers and Mendi Muruks holds the most titles with 4. As far as the Olympics are concerned, Papua has participated since 1976 except in 1980 but is yet to gain an Olympic medal - though swimmer Ryan Pini came close (100m butterfly, 2008 Beijing).
Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Papua New Guinea. Is there something missing? If you know of something that should be listed here, please let us know.
Popular sports of Papua New Guinea
- Rugby league, cricket, football (soccer), Australian football, basketball
Papua New Guinea Sporting Success
- Papua New Guinea tops the medal tally at the Pacific Games in 1991 and 2015, in both cases they were the host nation.
Great athletes from Papua New Guinea
- Marcus Bai (rugby league)
- Violet and Patricia Apisah (tennis)
Papua New Guinea Sports trivia
Papua New Guinea at major events
- Papua New Guinea at the Summer Olympics
- Papua New Guinea at the Commonwealth Games
- Papua New Guinea at the Cricket T20 World Cup
Past sporting events hosted in Papua New Guinea
- 1969 Pacific Games in Port Moresby
- 1991 Pacific Games in Port Moresby
- 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby
- 2016 Women's Under-20 FIFA World Cup
Upcoming sporting events in Papua New Guinea
- 2026 Rugby League World Cup (co-hosted with Australia)
Annual sporting events held in Papua New Guinea
Sporting Facilities in Papua New Guinea
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