- Countries’ prime ministers made announcement on Thursday
- PNG side will become the NRL’s 18th or 19th club in 2028
A team from Papua New Guinea will enter the NRL from 2028 after officially being granted a licence by the league – and Aussie footy fans have blasted the move for being a political stunt that wastes $600million of taxpayer money.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his PNG counterpart James Marape met in Sydney on Thursday to shake hands over the deal, the culmination of two years of planning that also involved Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys.
The pair reached an in-principle agreement with the NRL in May, and have since been ironing out specifics.
The final legal documents to ratify the team’s creation are expected to be signed in the coming weeks.
‘I am delighted to announce the Australian government is supporting a PNG team to join the NRL from 2028,’ Albanese said.
‘Rugby league is PNG’s national sport, and PNG deserves a national team. The new team will belong to the people of PNG and will call PNG home.
Footy fans in Papua New Guinea (pictured) are ecstatic with the news that their country will get its own NRL team – but their many of their counterparts in Australia have a very different view
Australia’s northern neighbour will enter the NRL competition in 2028 (pictured, PNG – in yellow, red and black – play in the Rugby League World Cup)
Left to right: PNG Prime Minister James Marape, footy boss Peter V’landys and Anthony Albanese at the official announcement of the new club on Thursday
‘I know it will have millions of proud fans barracking for it from day one. Not just in PNG, but I suspect many Australians will adopt the PNG team as theirs.’
The as-yet-unnamed team is seen as key diplomatic tool for Australia to strengthen ties in the hotly-contested Pacific and ward off China’s expansion into the area, and will cost the Australian taxpayer $600million over 10 years.
And that aspect of the history-making addition to the league has got fans offside in a big way, judging by the reaction to the news on social media.
‘This is an absolute farce and makes a mockery of the game. The sooner V’landys and Albo are gone, the better,’ one fan wrote.
‘Waste of taxpayers money – nothing but a political stunt conceived by a egotistical t**t,’ another commenter wrote, pointing the finger at Albanese.
‘Terrible idea, politics before fans it seems,’ added another.
‘For all those hard working Australian families in the depth of financial despair under the worst PM in history @AlboMP has outlaid $600 million over 10 years to fund PNG’s entry into the NRL,’ wrote another.
Aussie NRL fans took to social media to vent their fury after the announcement, with many slamming the move for being political and a waste of taxpayer money
It will be either the NRL’s 18th or 19th franchise, pending further expansion plans into Perth.
Players will be granted tax incentives to relocate to PNG, and will live in a secure compound in Port Moresby to be organised and funded by the PNG Government.
Initial estimates suggest that players will therefore be able to pocket almost double the amount of money they would on the same salary in Australia.
The 10-year deal with the Australian government will commence now and run until the end of 2034.
Some $60 million of it will exist as the licensing fee, with that money to be distributed to clubs.
Another $290 million will be used to support the franchise, while the remaining $250 million will be for rugby league pathways in the Pacific.
The NRL will be unable to ask for extra money through the life of the deal, and the federal government has the ability to withdraw support at any point.
The deal is also contingent on Papua New Guinea building safe, world-class accommodation for players and officials.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .