From left: Harold Rassmussen and Mahuta Rassmussen, both 14, with Sharon Pascoe and Wayne Parrott Photo: Cook Islands News
Football - Cooks Islands
An Australian couple travelled with 'excess luggage' to deliver much-needed football gear to the Cook Islands.
Sharon Pascoe and Wayne Parrott donated 581 pairs of football boots, 325 pairs of socks and 110 pairs of shin pads at the weekend.
The idea of collecting the items came to the couple when they visited Rarotonga 12 months ago and wanted to provide junior footballers with footwear when they saw young players sharing boots.
They worked with the Australian Government, Jetstar, the Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee, and their local A-League club Central Coast Mariners, to get the gear and then get it to the islands.
With the likelihood of a bill of thousands of dollars in freight costs, they contacted the Minister for the Pacific, Pat Conroy, who helped set up transport of the boots.
- Cooks Islands News
Football - brawl
A football match in Papua New Guinea erupted into violence as players reportedly assaulted match officials.
The Oceania Football Centre says the incident occurred at the National Soccer League (NSL) match between Morobe Wawens and Lae City at the weekend.
It said a controversial decision by an official sparked anger among some players.
The website said, citing video footage, a heated argument soon escalated into violence with Morobe Wawens players throwing punches at the officials.
The PNG Football Association (PNGFA) and the NSL have both condemned the incident and launched separate investigations.
PNGFA President John Kapi Natto issued a statement saying such behaviour has no place in the sport and they will not tolerate any form of violence, especially towards officials.
Football - withdrawals
Papua New Guinea and Samoa have withdrawn from the Oceania U-16 Women's Championship, to be played from next week, in Tahiti.
It follows the late arrival of the PNG men's U-23 team for the Olympic qualifiers taking place in Auckland and the forfeit of one match.
The PNG Football Association and Football Federation Samoa will now be referred to the OFC's Ethics and Disciplinary Committee.
The tournament draw has been redrawn, with eight teams playing in two groups of four.
The dates have also changed and the tournament will now finish four days earlier, on September 26.
Rugby - Fijiana
The Fijiana rugby team is ready to play Japan twice in a week.
In Japan, the side will play two Test matches, the first on Sunday at Fukuoka, and then on September 16 at Chichibunomiya.
The Fijiana will be using the matches as warm-ups to the Women's World Rugby Challenge for Tier 3 teams in Dubai later this year.
Rugby - Solomons
Australia is assisting the Solomon Islands Rugby Union Federation (SIRUF) prepare the national sevens rugby teams for the Pacific Games in November.
Top-level coach Chris Nay will work with the teams from next week in Honiara.
He will be based at the Solomon Islands National Institute of Sport.
Nay said he was looking forward to the coaching opportunity.
Cricket - world qualifier
Four cricket teams sit on three wins each in the East Asia-Pacific T-20 cricket qualifier.
A spot at the global qualifier for next year's women's T20 World Cup is up for grabs.
Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Japan have each won three times.
Fiji has won a sole match, while Samoa and the Cook Islands have yet to register in the winner's column.
The matches wrap up on Friday.