Papua New Guinea will gain its own team in Australia’s rugby league in a soft diplomacy deal announced Thursday linked to limiting Chinese influence in the South Pacific. The Australian government will spend 600 million Australian dollars ($380 million) over a decade to add a team from its nearest neighbor to the

SYDNEY: Australia will spend US$385 million to establish a team from Papua New Guinea in its rugby league competition, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday (Dec 12), a move designed to help ward off China.

A team from rugby league hotspot Papua New Guinea will enter the National Rugby League from 2028 after officially being granted a license.

A team from the Pacific nation will join Australia’s National Rugby League in a $400 million deal that deepens ties while denting China’s regional security push.

A team from rugby league hotspot Papua New Guinea will enter the National Rugby League from 2028 after officially being granted a license. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Papua New Guinean counterpart James Marape met in Sydney on Thursday to shake hands over the deal,

Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy says the introduction of a Papua New Guinea National Rugby League team is “bound to succeed”.