FORMER MANCHESTER UNITED PLAYER NAMED PNG WOMENS COACH

Spencer Prior, a former professional football player for Manchester United player in the English Premier League is now the appointed head coach for the PNG National Women's team PNG Football Association in close consultation with the Oceania Football Confederation are pleased to confirm the official appointment of Spencer Prior as the new PNG Women’s National Football Team head coach. Spencer was preferred ahead of another 2 other shortlisted applicants out of a general field of 15 applications for the PNG Women’s National team head coach position.

Spencer holds a AFF/AFC Pro coaching diploma, UEFA B coaching license and other football accreditations such as football coach educator, conditioner and analyst. He also holds a Bachelor of Psychological Science besides football. His coaching career is focused more on Women’s football development because he strongly believes that women’s football has the potential to bridge the gap of football development in all countries. Besides working with clubs in and around Australia and Asia, Spencer’s international coaching experiences included being the head coach for the Thailand Women’s National team from 2016/2017; head coach for the Australian U19 Women’s national team 2012/2013; and assistant coach for the Australian Women’s National senior team (Matildas) in 2011/2013. Having worked in Thailand and growing up in Vietnam, Spencer, a Brit turned Australian is well accustomed to different cultures and environments and is very approachable and adaptable to all. These are amongst key personalities that made Spencer stand out. Spencer had a professional football career as a player in the English Premier league for over 10 years playing with clubs such as Manchester City, Leicester City, Norwich City, Derby County, Cardiff City and Southend United as a central defender.

“I would like to thank the PNG Football Association and Oceania Football Confederation Managements for giving me this opportunity to lead the PNG Women’s National team to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup play-offs in New Zealand in February 2023.”

“We are currently preparing the players in Sydney where we are working together on developing high performance mindsets. Our aim has been to get the players to buy into the expectations on and off the pitch of what will be required to win two (2) games of football against teams that have spent 3 and a half years preparing for this moment.” “We have an opportunity to achieve the ultimate goal of qualifying for a spot in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup of which will raise the profile of women’s football in PNG.” ‘’While we have a good number of players still in country having visas and passports processed, it’s important for us to see all players that are in contention for a spot in the squad. We have organized a trial/practice match to ensure all players are given the same opportunity to be seen. This game will also provide a window to see those who have been in the high-performance program for the past two weeks. I’ am very much looking forward to meeting with all the staff and players together to discuss the next three months ahead towards the first play-offs vs Panama.’’

“The attitude and application of the players since coming into camp in Sydney has been first class. We are developing a culture that allows us to push the players beyond their limits everyday challenging them physically, mentally and technically.” ‘’This is a very exciting and challenging project and I’ am honored to be part of it.” Unquote. PNGFA Technical Director who officially welcomed head coach Spencer Prior for and on behalf of PNG Football Association said he was satisfied that our Women’s National Football team are now under a very good coaching leadership that can make a difference in a short space of time. He said the players have established very positive team bondage and culture which was encouraging for the team in the way forward.