MASSIVE EXODUS FROM PNG KAPULS - 9 Players Remain Loyal to Hekari United FC

There's so many questions being asked about the absence of most Hekari players in the PNG Kapuls training camp who will play against Tahiti in March for a spot in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Well Tommy Semmy, Ishmael Pole, Otto Kusunan, David Muta, Koriak Upaiga, Leslie Kalai, Emmanuel Airem, Kolu Kepo and Daniel Joe are all in full swing training with Hekari United FC for the OFC Champions League.

Semmy, Muta, Upaiga and Joe had just returned from playing with Solomon Islands champion club Marist FC who won the 2016 Solomon Islands Super League. The four have decided to stay on with Hekari and train for their 2017 OFC Champions league campaign.

Hekari chairman and franchise owner John Kapi Natto in an interview with NBC sports says the decision whether or not to play for the PNG Kapuls team will be a personal decision for the nine players in the Hekari camp.

"They are players, they make their own decisions whether to go to the National Team or whether to stay  and play for the club. Thats their own decisions and I cannot go and tell them to go and play for the national team. They are men on their own rights and they make their own decisions."

The PNG Football Association suspended Hekari Soccer Association in 2016 under an electoral code for not having an active competition. Hekari decided to pull out the National Soccer League and the OFC Champions League, given the obvious reasons that it was suspended by PNGFA.

However Kapi Natto says, his passion to develop and raise the standard of soccer in the country will continue whether it be in the OFC champions league or the soon to formed Football Federation of Papua New Guinea.

"Hekari is something that I established, whether it's in the NSL or the premier league, I am not gonna lose the passion that I have. The standard of football will always be there."

Kapi Natto was instrumental in supporting football in PNG by contributing K15,000 towards the PNG Kapuls during the 2016 OFC Nations Cup in Port Moresby. It is also understood that Hekari players are well looked after by their franchise club than in the PNG National team.

"The likes of David Muta, Tommy Semmy and Koriak Upaiga, the two oldest being Muta and Upaiga. I have created legacy and the legacy of Hekari will continue to be there."

Meanwhile, the nine Hekari players wants a dialogue with the PNGFA President and General Secretary on how they went about suspending member associations and must their intentions known before they take up the red, black and gold jumpers.