Roland Bala playing for New Zealand side Southern United in 2017 Photo: OFC Media
Former PNG U-23 skipper Roland Bala says "enough is enough" and demanded the local football head resign after the national football team were unable to travel for a tournament.
Papua New Guinea couldn't fly to Auckland to play in Sunday's opening match of the men's Oceania Olympic qualifying tournament against the host nation.
The Oceania Football Confederation said on Wednesday that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has declared the match lost by forfeit 3-0 by Papua New Guinea.
It said the team can continue in the competition, and the remaining matches will be played as originally scheduled.
A senior PNGFA official told the Post Courier the reason for the failure to travel was because of visa issues.
The official said PNG still intended to send a team to Aotearoa to fulfil it's remaining fixtures.
They are scheduled to face Fiji on Saturday at Mt Smart Stadium.
According to the independent website, Oceania Football Centre, the incident mirrors an earlier "blunder" by the PNGFA during the U-17 Oceania Championship in January, where the national team was absent.
Roland Bala called for heads to roll over the latest farce.
"As a former captain of the Under 23 national team to the Olympic qualifiers, I call for the president to step down…Enough is enough!
"We are going nowhere!"
The Post Courier reports many football fans within PNG also shared the same sentiment as Bala with most saying online that there needs to be an administrative overhaul.
Oceania Football Centre editor said the no-show should lead to action to rectify the situation in PNG.
"This latest incident further highlights the pressing need for PNGFA to re-evaluate its administrative practices and take necessary steps to ensure that such avoidable blunders do not tarnish the nation's football aspirations.
"The repeated failures have not only left a void in Papua New Guinea's football legacy but also raised questions about the commitment of the federation to its players and the sport," it said.
