Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse nations on earth, with more than 800 languages, and its traditional games are just as varied. The best known is Trobriand cricket (locally called kirikiti), a version of the sport introduced by missionaries to the Trobriand Islands in the early 1900s and then reshaped into a distinctly Melanesian game, with teams of dozens of players, ceremonial chanting and dancing between overs, and outcomes shaped as much by ritual and hospitality as by runs scored. Alongside such adapted games, communities across the highlands and coast have long held their own contests of strength, spear- and stone-throwing, canoe racing and wrestling, many tied to feasts and initiation ceremonies rather than to formal competition.

Unlike in many other countries where football (soccer) is the dominant game, in Papua New Guinea, it is Rugby League that reigns, and it is widely regarded as the national sport. It is played in schools and villages in different parts of the country and has become part of the national identity.

The men's national team, the Kumuls, are one of the strongest sides outside the traditional powers and have climbed to around 6th in the International Rugby League world rankings after winning the Pacific Bowl in 2024. Marcus Bai, a flying winger who represented the country at the 1995 Rugby League World Cup and went on to play in Australia's NRL and in the English Super League, remains the nation's most celebrated player.

Domestic rugby league is played in the Papua New Guinea National Rugby League Competition (founded in 1990) and, at a higher level, in the Digicel Cup, while the PNG Hunters carried the country's colours into Australia's Queensland Cup, winning that title in 2017.

The most significant development in the nation's sporting history came in December 2024, when the NRL confirmed that a Papua New Guinea franchise – named the PNG Chiefs in October 2025 and based in Port Moresby – will enter the competition as its 19th team from the 2028 season, backed by a major Australian government funding package.

As far as the Olympics are concerned, Papua New Guinea has competed at every Summer Games since 1976 (boycotting only in 1980) but is yet to win an Olympic medal; swimmer Ryan Pini came closest by reaching the final of the 100m butterfly at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Below are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Papua New Guinea. Is there something missing? If you know of something that should be listed here, please let us know.

Popular sports of Papua New Guinea

  • Rugby league, cricket, rugby union, football (soccer), Australian football, basketball

Papua New Guinea Sporting Success

  • The NRL confirmed in December 2024 that the Port Moresby–based PNG Chiefs will join the competition from 2028, making Papua New Guinea the first Pacific nation with a team in Australia's premier rugby league competition.
  • The Kumuls (men's rugby league team) rose to around 6th in the world rankings after winning the Pacific Bowl in 2024.
  • Papua New Guinea topped the medal tally at the Pacific Games in 1991 and 2015, on both occasions as the host nation.
  • The national cricket team (the Barramundis) qualified for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in 2021 and again in 2024.

Great athletes from Papua New Guinea

  • Marcus Bai (rugby league)
  • Ryan Pini (swimming)
  • Dika Toua (weightlifting)
  • Violet and Patricia Apisah (tennis)

Papua New Guinea Sports trivia

  • Rugby league is Papua New Guinea's national sport – one of the few countries in the world where this is the case.
  • Trobriand cricket, a highly localised version of cricket from the Trobriand Islands, is one of the country's most famous traditional games and was the subject of the acclaimed 1975 documentary Trobriand Cricket.
  • Weightlifter Dika Toua has represented Papua New Guinea at five Olympic Games, competing from Sydney 2000 onwards.

Papua New Guinea at major events

Past sporting events hosted in Papua New Guinea

Upcoming sporting events in Papua New Guinea

  • 2026 Rugby League World Cup (co-hosted with Australia, 15 October – 15 November 2026, with matches in Port Moresby)

Annual sporting events held in Papua New Guinea

  • Digicel Cup – the country's premier domestic rugby league competition, culminating in the grand final in Port Moresby.

Sporting Facilities in Papua New Guinea

  • Santos National Football Stadium, Port Moresby – the country's main rugby league and football venue, being expanded to serve as the future home of the PNG Chiefs NRL team.
  • Sir John Guise Stadium, Port Moresby – a multi-purpose stadium built for the 2015 Pacific Games.