PNG Hekari FC to depart for New Zealand tomorrow ahead of OFC Pro League Opener

Papua New Guinea Hekari Football Club will travel to New Zealand tomorrow, Wednesday, January 14, ahead of the 2026 Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Professional League, which kicks off this Saturday (January 17) at Eden Park, Auckland.

The team held their final training session this morning, fine-tuning their structure, team combinations, and finalizing everything before their departure to the ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’ (New Zealand) tomorrow at 1:00 pm. 

Speaking to the media after the final training session, head coach Marcos Gusmao said the players are fresh, energetic, and ready to compete in the OFC Pro League opening round this weekend.

“We had a three-month preparation. It’s not easy, but now that everything has come to the end of this preparation, the team is ready to play. We know we have strong opponents, but the team is confident, and we have a good team spirit to compete,” coach Gusmao stated.

General Manager, Wira Wama, echoed a similar sentiment: “We’ve been preparing for three months leading up to the OFC Pro League, and I am confident that whatever our technical team delivered on the training field will give us a good result.”

Experienced goalkeeper Dave Tomare will captain the team. Ni-Vanutau’s recruit, John Alick, will deputize the captaincy role, backed by journeyman Raymond Gunemba, blending overseas players and local talents to be competitive in the elite competition. 

PNG Hekari FC is backed by MRDC as the platinum sponsor, with Petroleum Resources Kutubu (PRK) and Kutubu Security Services (KSS) offering support sponsorships. The strong backing of these three sponsors has boosted the players’ morale to give their best and represent the club, including PNG, with pride.

Hekari will go head-to-head with the Solomon Kings FC in the opener on Sunday (January 18), then meet Tahiti United the following weekend, and end their first round against the South Melbourne FC before returning to PNG to host the second round of the five-circuit series competition.