NRL fans blast Anthony Albanese after $600MILLION Papua New Guinea plan gets the green light: ‘Waste of tax payer dollars’

Football fans fear Anthony Albanese is making a “terrible decision” amid reports the Australian Prime Minister has given the green light for $600 million in funding to establish a new NRL team in Papua New Guinea.

News Corp reports that the federal government has reached an agreement in principle with the ARL Commission to fund the NRL’s 19th team over the course of a 10-year plan.

Albanian reportedly sees the huge investment as part of his government’s “soft diplomacy” strategy in the Pacific region, and it is undoubtedly the biggest expansion deal in the history of the sport.

The same outlet reports that the Papua New Guinea team will enter the competition in 2028, a year after the Western Bears became the 18th club to enter the competition.

The government will fund the Pacific team until 2037, by which time they expect the team to be self-financing.

However, football fans are far from convinced of the project and expressed concerns on social media on Wednesday evening that it is doomed to failure.

“Terrible decision,” one fan wrote on X. “This isn’t going to work.”

Another said: ‘Terrible. No fan wants to travel there.’

Federal government reportedly willing to fund new NRL team for 10 years

“This is the worst decision in rugby league history,” predicted a third fan.

‘Maybe it’s just me but I don’t see how this makes sense,’ began a fourth. ‘Yes PNG loves the competition but how do we expect them to be competitive in the NRL?

“I’ve been there a few times, but I wonder how they’re going to attract talent there. They can’t just rely on their own guys.”

A fifth fan simply wrote, “Dollars before common sense.”

However, Albanese strongly defends the project, calling it a “game changer”.

“This is a game changer for our relationship with Papua New Guinea,” Albanese told News Corp.

‘The aim would be for government funding to be focused on economic development in schools. It’s not just for the NRL team and to pay Alex Johnston (Souths winger) to play for PNG.

“We are absolutely behind the NRL bid and, more importantly, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister (James) Marape is also fully behind an NRL team.

“To set up a PNG NRL team, we need to get the track and infrastructure right.

‘It is an important part of economic development and youth engagement in Papua New Guinea.

Albanian sees the plan as part of Australia’s soft power diplomacy in the Pacific region

But football fans have expressed concern over the latest news on social media

‘This is not just about sports, but also about building relationships between people and economic development for Papua New Guinea, that is how the government sees it.

‘I was in Papua New Guinea in January and you saw kids and adults all wearing New York State jerseys and NRL club jerseys.

‘The fans there are fanatical.’

The $600 million the government has pledged is not just for the new NRL team, but is part of what they describe as a broader social, economic and educational program to help a country of 10 million people.

A mini-city for rugby league players is expected to be built in Port Moresby, where Australian football stars and their families will live.