$600m deal confirms Papua New Guinea will join the NRL as 19th club

The NRL and Australian federal government have agreed to a $600m deal to bring a new NRL expansion team to Papua New Guinea. This deal has been in the works for years. The new club is set to join the league in 2028. It will be the 19th NRL team.

Papua New Guinea to get NRL team

After years of work, Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) boss Peter V’landys has finally got the NRL expansion deal he has been hoping for.
 
According to recent reports, V’landys and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have put pen to paper on a $600 million deal to bring a new NRL club to Papua New Guinea in 2028.
 
If things go to plan, the federal government will give the NRL $60 million per year for 10 years, starting in 2027. The Papua New Guinea club will be the league’s 19th team, after it adds yet another expansion club in 2027.
 
Neither the ARLC nor Australian government have confirmed these reports. However, according to most sources, the deal is done. Anthony Albanese also semi-confirmed these reports this week.

“We're just working through, still, the final details of that (in-principle agreement),” he told ABC Radio Brisbane on Wednesday.

The new Papua New Guinea NRL club could be announced as soon as next month leading up to the Prime Minister’s XIII game against Papua New Guinea on October 12. 

Debate rages over government funding

Whenever government funding goes to sport, there is always debate about whether the money should be going somewhere else. This case has been especially controversial because of the amount of money involved and because the money is not all going to Australia.  
 
NRL fans took to social media to criticise the potential new Papua New Guinea team.
 
“Horrible decision,” one fan wrote on X (Twitter). “Terrible. No fan is going to want to travel there,” said another. “It may be just me, but I'm struggling to see how this makes any sense,” yet another added.
 
The response hasn’t been all negative though. For one, Prime Minister Albanese has consistently supported the plan. Earlier this year, he called a potential NRL club in Papua New Guinea “a game changer for our relationship with Papua New Guinea.”
 
Albanese and Papua New Guinea  Prime Minister James Marape have also repeatedly stressed that not all $600 million will be going to the nation’s new NRL club. Some funding will go towards educational programs, youth engagement efforts, and a new “mini city” compound in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

It has always been tough for new NRL clubs. It will be especially hard for a Papua New Guinea team. We’re sure the betting sites will have them as Wooden Spoon favourites come 2028. Hopefully we’ll be around so they can prove us all wrong though.