Football West has hosted members of the Papua Football Academy from Indonesia on an eleven-day exchange visit to Perth, marking a significant step in the governing body’s Asian Engagement Strategy and demonstrating football’s capacity to build meaningful cross-cultural relationships across the region.
Supported by the WA Government, the visit brought 60 players aged 13 to 15 from across Papua province to train alongside Football West Academy players and local clubs, including Perth Azzurri and Perth Glory. The group also attended A-League and New Balance NPL WA matches, toured Optus Stadium, visited the WA Institute of Sport, ECU Joondalup and John Curtin College of Arts, and met with the Indonesian Consulate General in Perth.
“Football West is committed to leading football diplomacy in the region, and this program is a great example of football’s power to connect people, build relationships and create genuine pathways,” said Football West Asian Engagement Advisor Robbie Gaspar. “It’s all about the people-to-people connections”.
Leading initiatives
Established in 2022 through a partnership between PT Freeport Indonesia and the Football Association of Indonesia, the Papua Football Academy provides high-performance training, education and welfare support for talented young players from one of Indonesia’s most geographically remote provinces. The program has quickly become one of Indonesia’s leading youth development initiatives, with ambitions to build international connections through training camps, matches and partnerships.
Papua Football Academy Director Wolfgang Pikal said the visit had provided his players and coaches with a standard of facilities and competition exposure unavailable at home. “We have nothing like this in Papua,” he said. “It has allowed the coaches to learn something new and for the kids to measure themselves against young players in Perth.”
Pikal flagged hopes of placing two or three players in Perth competitions in the future as the partnership develops.
