GUNEMBA SLAMS GOVERNMENT AND PNGFA OVER DELAYED MSG CUP PAYMENTS

By BRADLEY MARIORI

PNG International Soccer rep, Raymond Gunemba is unhappy with the delayed payments from the Government and PNG Football Association to players and officla during the 2024 and 2025 Melanesian Spearhead Group Prime Ministers Cup competition.

In an interview this week, Gunemba said PNG won the 2024 MSG competition in Solomon Islands and then hosted the 2025 MSG competition in PNG but they were not paid.

“It is the Prime Minister’s team so the payment will come through the PNG Government into PNG Sports Foundation to look after the team,” a frustrated Gunemba said.

“The arrangement is that when we travel or take part, we will have all our payment before or during the tournament but since 2024 at Solomon Islands, nothing happened including year when we were the host.

“They told us that there’s been some delay in the process with the accounts and assured us that after the tournament we would get our payment but after the tournament we waited and got nothing.”

Gunemba said only the supporting staff and the the tournament organizing committee and other service providers received their payment but the the players didn’t receive anything.

He said about 24 players plus the management and technical team plus officials for both men’s and women’s team are yet to be paid.

“PNGFA said they will not send team to take part in this year’s MSG until they sort us out but we were not sorted out and they have already assembled a team to take part in this years MSG.

“They should wait until players receive their payment before they send the team because the welfare of the players is important.

” It is good for the players to go play and expose their talents there and to represent our country but we must be compensated,” Gunemba said.

He said players must be settled as they have sacrificed alot and were looked down on.