Papua New Guinea national Australian rules football team
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| Union | PNG Rules Football Council |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Mosquitoes |
| First international | |
Papua New Guinea  100 – 18 New Zealand(1995) |
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The Papua New Guinea national Australian rules football team (nicknamed the "Mosquitos" and for sponsorship purposes, the Telikom PNG Mosquitos) represents Papua New Guinea in the team sport of Australian rules football.
The Mosquitos represent the best PNG born and bred male players from the clubs and teams of AFL PNG and is one of the nation's most successful sporting teams, currently ranked 2nd in the world behind Australia.
Beginning as a state representative team in 1973 (when it participated in the Teal Cup), it debuted internationally against Australia at Under 17 level in 1977. Papua New Guinea is the most decorated nation in international Australian Football, having won the equal most Australian Football International Cup titles (2 - 2008, 2014) and five medals including 3 silver medals (2002, 2005, 2011), as well as three gold medals at the Arafura Games.
The team's nickname is the Mosquitos or "Mozzies" (aka Binatangs – local PNG name for small insects, similar to a mosquito).
The Mosquito's guernsey has the kumul (raggiana bird-of-paradise), a national symbol of PNG (and element of the national flag of Papua New Guinea), in the national colours of red, black and yellow.
In the early 1970s, Australian clubs began touring PNG to compete against selections of local players but it wasn't until 1973 that the national team first began to form.
1977 was a historic year for Papua New Guinean footy. The year saw the first ever international matches involving Australia at under 17 level between Australia and Papua New Guinea. The Australian Under 17 squad toured Papua New Guinea, and the PNG team reciprocated in Adelaide, with Australia dominating the game and taking the honours.
Subsequent decline in the sport in PNG and growth of the sport in Australia did not see the Mosquitos compete again until 1995, when Aussie Rules was first played at the Arafura Games in Darwin, Northern Territory. That year PNG won the gold medal of the International division defeating New Zealand. In the same competition, PNG also competed against sides from Nauru, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.
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