Going to Papua New Guinea was strange enough. How did I end up watching the Papua New Guinea FIFA Women's U-20 World Cup Finals?
It all began when I attended the World Domination Summit in Portland, Oregon. I met a guy there named Daniel Berry, who invited me to come visit him in his hometown of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.
I'm always down to make new friends, and go on a strange adventure so I said "sure, why not!"
Fast forward several months later, there I am on a Qantas plane flying out of Brisbane, heading for Port Moresby.
Attending the FIFA Finals
Because my friend was still in Australia and wasn't going to be home for another two days, he made arrangements with his parents and friends to show me around town until he returned.
Daniel's parents were extremely hospitable, picking me up from airport and helping me get settled in. Shortly after, Daniel's friend Leonard picked me up and off we went to the Port Moresby stadium.
I've never watched a soccer game before, and I find it strange that I am experiencing my first game in Papua New Guinea, especially when my hometown of Vancouver, Canada has our own soccer team.
Honestly, I may have been converted to a soccer fan after watching the intense match between USA and Japan. The Japanese players were relentless at keeping the Americans on the defence for a majority of the game.
The intense match ended as the Japanese scored a point during overtime, winning third place in the tournament.
Before the finals between North Korea and France, I quickly grabbed a bite to eat. As I lined up with the local Papua New Guineans, I couldn't help but feel paranoid mainly because of the rumours of how dangerous the country is.
Luckily, I was able to grab a (crappy) burger without harm done, thanks to the heavy police presence due to the FIFA World Cup game. The stadium and streets outside have become quite safe, whereas normally, you wouldn't be able to roam the streets because safety is such an issue.
I guess I went at the right time because thanks to the soccer game, security has been bolstered in this city!
The match for the world cup finals was even more intense than the one prior, with the French dominating the first round as they scored the first point. Because the French were very aggressive, and has injured the North Korean players multiple times, this caused an apparent split in the support between the two teams. The fans were pretty vocal about it too!
The French may have lost some steam halfway through, as the North Koreans began dominating the game, which ended with North Korea as the victor with a final score of 3-1.
Afterwards, they held the ceremony accompanied with a well-done fireworks to end the event.
I definitely had a good time attending
