| Nickname(s) | The Mosquitoes |
|---|---|
| Governing body | PNG Rules Football Council |
| Head coach | David Lake |
| Captain | John James Lavai |
| Rankings | |
| Current |  2nd (as of October 2022[1]) |
| First international | |
Papua New Guinea  24 - 5 Nauru  (1976)[2] | |
| International Cup | |
| Appearances | 6 (first in 2002) |
| Best result | 1st (2008, 2014, 2017) |
The Papua New Guinea national Australian rules football team (nicknamed the Mosquitos (Tok Pisin: Moskitos) and for sponsorship purposes, the Telikom PNG Mosquitos) represents Papua New Guinea in the team sport of Australian rules football. It is one of the nation's most successful sporting teams, currently ranked 2nd in the world behind Australia.
The PNG Mosquitos are selected from the best born and raised male players from the clubs and teams of Papua New Guinea. Formed in the 1960s to participate in tests against popular teams from Australia, PNG debuted internationally in 1976 against Nauru in front of a crowd of over 10,000 at Sir Hubert Murray Stadium in Port Moresby which it won convincingly.[2] It has a strong rivalry with Indigenous Australian teams, defeating them in the majority of their rare encounters including 1973, 1974 and 2009. It has remained a dominant international side, becoming the most decorated nation in international Australian Football, having won the most Australian Football International Cup titles (3 - 2008, 2014, 2017) and five medals including 3 silver medals (2002, 2005, 2011), featuring in every Grand Final since the inaugural tournament in 2002, as well as winning three gold medals at the Arafura Games.
- ^ "World Footy News World Rankings post 2022 European Championships - World Footy News".
- ^ a b "It's PNG by 129 points". Papua New Guinea Post-courier. International, Australia. 21 September 1976. p. 24. Retrieved 25 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.