By Bethanie Harriman, ABC
As PNG reaches for its NRL dreams, what is the power of sports diplomacy? Photo: ABC News / Nick Haggerty
China's growing role in Papua New Guinea's health, education, and infrastructure hasn't gone unnoticed, nor has the $600 million Australian-funded NRL team set for 2028.
While some see the team as a cultural and economic win, others argue the money is better spent on essential services, especially amid rising law and order crises.
The debate has been fuelled more recently by a spate of ugly law and order problems including the killing of police officers in the Southern Highlands and the brutal rape and murder of a woman in Port Moresby.
The nation's entry into the 2028 NRL season was confirmed on February 19, 2025 - just days after the brutal rape and murder of 23-year-old Margaret Gamaru Gabriel in Port Moresby's Baruni Settlement.
The deal between Australia and PNG ensures PNG will have its own team in the NRL, the highest level of rugby league in Australia. Photo: ABC / Supplied
Geopolitical interests
Some believe that without geopolitical interests, PNG likely wouldn't be considered for NRL expansion - especially one that costs the league nothing.
"Strike while the Iron is hot," Jotham Aaron, a finance executive at the Digicel Group from Lae, says.
"Australia can't compete with China in terms of money, the only thing they can offer is an NRL team which is worth more in the eyes of the PNG public than the money that China can give," he said.
"If it wasn't for geopolitics, PNG wouldn't even get a glance for an expansion licence especially one which the NRL doesn't have to spend a dime to make happen."
The country is now positioned to have a rugby league team funded which many consider a positive given China's firm foothold in PNG's development.
"Change is inevitable, and we must embrace it, opportunities like this don't come often, and we should recognise the potential it brings for Papua New Guinea," Philimon Awari, a musician from the Hela Province, says.
"Rugby league is huge for both countries and PNG getting into the NRL should've happened ages ago."
'NRL is relatively superficial'
Paul Barker, PNG Institute of National Affairs director, says the nation is more sceptical, thinking it has more important issues and concerns to address, from law and order, governance, health services and corruption, to education and jobs.
Adding that China's role in the country's health sector is also starting to be noticed.
League is the most popular sport in PNG and holds a significant place in the country's culture. (Getty Images: Bradley Kanaris ) Photo: Getty Images / Bradley Kanaris
Barnabas Kamave, a quality control officer at Brian Bell Group from the Eastern Highlands Province, says essential services, not a sports team, are needed.
"At the moment we do not need sports, in this case, an NRL team. We need basic services like health, education, law and order, infrastructural services, even agriculture. We need funding that will improve the individual lives of our people," Kamave said.
"What will the NRL do to help the increasing law and order problems in our country?
"Fighting and killing in the upper highlands regions, the shooting of law enforcement in the Southern Highlands Province, murder in the cities and the recent rape and killing in Baruni?"
"Even today, women were observing the Chinese are putting doctors into hospitals who are visible and useful, while NRL is relatively superficial," he said.
Missing the real potential to create change
While elite sport generates visibility, it doesn't solve PNG's core social challenges.
According to the US Institute of Peace, each year more than 1.5 million women and girls in PNG experience gender-based violence tied to intercommunal conflict, political intimidation, domestic abuse, and other causes.
Tahina Booth is the founder of the Grass Skirt project, a leading organisation tackling gender-based violence in PNG through innovative sports and wellness initiatives.
One such initiative is the annual Hevea cup and wellness expo, which aims to improve health and social outcomes across PNG by leveraging the popularity of rugby league.
She says the sports diplomacy is missing the real potential to create change.
Former tri-international athlete in rugby league, Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting, Tahina Booth says the current focus of sports diplomacy misses the real potential to create change.(Supplied) Photo: ABC / Supplied
"Australia has long recognised the power of sport as a diplomatic tool, investing in initiatives like the NRL PNG expansion and Olympic partnerships to strengthen regional relationships, but there's a major gap in the current strategy," she said.
"While elite sports investment increases, PNG communities continue to face some of the most pressing social crises in the region."
Sports diplomacy must evolve to prioritise grassroots development that directly addresses youth unemployment, gender based violence, and health inequities.
"China is embedding itself in PNG's grassroots sports infrastructure, investing in local stadiums, training centres, and community-driven programs that are strengthening its regional influence," Ms Booth says.
She also wonders if Australia can adjust its sport diplomacy strategy to fill that gap and be able to create some tangible change in the lives of Papua New Guineans.
-This article was first published by ABC
