Nathaniel Lepani (born 20 January 1982) is a

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

from

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. Lepani plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for Panamex FC; he has represented

Papua New Guinea national football team The Papua New Guinea national soccer team is the men's national Association football, soccer team of Papua New Guinea and is controlled by the Papua New Guinea Football Association. Its nickname is the ''Kapuls'', which is Tok Pisin for Cuscus. ...

at international level on 12 occasions. Lepani has also played for Menlo Oaks in the US as well as several other clubs in Australia and

Early life

Born in Papua New Guinea in January 1982, Lepani moved to Hawaii as a young child, due to his

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

, a diplomat, being posted there for work. Nathaniel moved to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

with his family in 1991 when his father became Papua New Guinea's Ambassador to Belgium.

Club career

Lepani began his career in 2000–01 with Cosmos

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

, a team based in the capital of his home country. In May 2001 he went on trial with Italian outfit

Brescia Calcio Brescia Calcio, commonly referred to as Brescia (), is an Italian football club based in Brescia, Lombardy. The team currently plays in Serie B, the second tier of Italian football, but will play in Serie C in 2025–26 due to financial contro ...

, training with the club's ''primavera'' youth squad. He lasted for the maximum trial period of a month, and was one of two Papua New Guineans to be selected for trial (the other being

Alex Davani Alex Davani (born 17 August 1985) was a Papua New Guinean professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He played for Brisbane Strikers, Taringa Rovers and Brisbane City in the Brisbane Premier League and the Papua New Guinea national foot ...

) but neither player was awarded a permanent contract. In 2002 the midfielder moved to the United States of America to study at

Menlo College Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and located in Atherton, California, United States. Campus Menlo College is situated on a 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco an ...

in California, playing for the college's team the Menlo Oaks at the same time. He wore the no.7 shirt for the team. Lepani scored a

penalty Penalty, The Penalty, Penalization, Penalisation, Penalize or Penalise may refer to: Sports * Foul (sports) ** Penalty (golf) ** Penalty (gridiron football) ** Penalty (ice hockey) ** Penalty (rugby) ** Penalty (rugby union) ** Penalty kick (assoc ...

in an 11–0 win over Bethany College in October 2002. After playing for the Californian club in 2002–03, Nathaniel chose not to play at club level in 2004 due to

national team and university commitments. In 2005, Lepani joined

Brisbane Premier League The Brisbane Premier League was the first tier of senior soccer in Brisbane, Queensland (fourth tier in Queensland and fifth overall in Australia). It was run and administered by Football Queensland Metro. The competition folded and was revam ...

outfit

Brisbane City FC Brisbane City Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football club based in Newmarket, Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1952, the club competed in the National Soccer League until the 1986 season where they were relegated back to Sta ...

. He played for the club's first–team and reserve side during his only season at Spencer Park, scoring one goal. The following year the midfielder joined Taringa Rovers of the same division, again shuttling between reserve and first–team outings. Further work and university commitments stalled Lepani's club career until the 2007–08 season, when he joined

Ku-ring-gai Kuringgai (also spelled Ku-ring-gai, Kuring-gai, Guringai, Kuriggai) (,) is an ethnonym misapplied to an Indigenous Australian people who once occupied the territory between the southern borders of the Gamilaraay and the area around Sydney, ...

district side Lindfield FC. Lepani was finally able to resume a regular career at club level after returning to Papua New Guinea in 2009. He signed for mid-table top-flight club Eastern Stars FC. Eastern Stars finished fifth in the

Papua New Guinea National Soccer League The Papua New Guinea Premier Soccer League is the men's top division of professional association football, soccer in Papua New Guinea. It is a nationwide league formed in 2006 by Papua New Guinea Football Association. It replaced the Papua New ...

in 2009–10. Lepani played more of a role in 2010–11, scoring a late penalty against

PRK Hekari United Hekari United, formerly known as POM Souths, Souths United, PRK Souths United and Hekari Souths United, is a professional soccer club formed in 2006, based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The club holds the record for most titles in the Papua ...

on 20 November 2010 in a 3–1 defeat. Eastern Stars finished as league runners-up that season, but this didn't stop Lepani leaving the club to join Gigira Laitepo Morobe in the same league. Lepani made his debut for Gigira Laitepo on the opening day of the 2011–12 season, in a 3–0 loss to

in November 2011. He scored a penalty in a 3–2 defeat to NBS Tukoko University on 26 November 2011. The midfielder scored a free kick in a 3–1 win over Bulolo United on 4 February 2012. He left Gigira Laitepo at the end of the season. After a spell without a club, Lepani joined up with

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

outfit Edge Hill United in May 2013, having returned to Australia. He made his debut for the club on 2 June 2013, scoring a hat-trick in a 5–0 win over Innisfail United. On 16 June, the midfielder played in Edge Hill's 6–1 loss to Stratford Dolpins; Lepani was substituted after his team had the first of two players sent-off. In December 2013 he won the Panamex Soccer Cup Challenge in

Lae Lae (, , later ) is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River on the northern coast of Huon Gulf. It is at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is ...

with Panamex FC, beating City United 2–1 in the final.

International career

Nathaniel played for Papua New Guinea U-20 in the

2001 OFC U-20 Championship The 2001 OFC U-20 Championship was the thirteenth contested. It was won by Australia who qualified for the 2001 FIFA U-20 World Cup after defeating New Zealand 4–3 on aggregate. Participating teams * * * * * * * * * * * First round Group st ...

held in the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

and

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

. He scored twice for the side, in the 4–0 win over

on 17 February 2004. However, despite this win, Papua New Guinea finished bottom of their group and failed to make it to the

2001 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Argentina between 17 June and 8 July 2001. The 2001 championship was the 13th contested. The tournament took part in six cities, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza, Rosario, Salta, and Mar del ...

. Lepani made his senior debut for

on 14 January 2004 against the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

in a 4–2 loss. He went on to make eight appearances that year, scoring against

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

in a

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

qualifier on 18 January 2004, and also netting against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

three times over two games. In June 2008 he was called up to Papua New Guinea's Wantok Cup 2008 squad, but his country eventually withdrew from the competition. These eight caps remained Lepani's only appearances for the national team until he was called up for the men's football tournament at the

2011 Pacific Games The 14th Pacific Games (), also known as NC 2011 or Nouméa 2011, took place in Nouméa, New Caledonia, from August 27 to September 10, 2011. Nouméa was the 14th host of the Pacific Games. Upon closure of the registration for entries, "some 4,300 ...

. He justified his inclusion in the squad by scoring Papua New Guinea's fourth goal in their 4–0 win over the

on 27 August 2011, after coming off the bench. Nathaniel was again a used substitute in the 1–1 draw with

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

on 1 September 2011, coming on just eleven minutes into the game after an injury to Reg Davani. He was later substituted off the pitch after

Cyril Muta Cyril Muta (born 10 October 1987) is a Papua New Guinean Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Sunshine Coast F.C. in the Queensland State League (association football), Queensland State Le ...

's red card. Lepani scored four times in the 17–1 demolition of

Kiribati Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the central Pacific Ocean. Its permanent population is over 119,000 as of the 2020 census, and more than half live on Tarawa. The st ...

on 3 September 2011, including two goals in the space of a minute. He then played in Papua New Guinea's final group match, the 2–0 loss to Fiji on 5 September 2011 that meant Papua New Guinea were sent home. Despite his goals in the Pacific Games, Lepani was not included in Papua New Guinea's final squad for the

2012 OFC Nations Cup The 2012 OFC Nations Cup was the ninth edition of the OFC Nations Cup organised by the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). The group stage of the tournament also doubled as the second round of the OFC qualification tournament for the 2014 FIFA ...

. Lepani later admitted he was "extremely" disappointed not to have made the squad, and revealed that a gash to his knee, which required "7 stitches and one week out from training camp" contributed to his exclusion.

International appearances and goals

Personal life

Lepani attended Port Moresby International School and St Peter's College in

and

, California in the United States. He then graduated from the

Queensland University of Technology The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. It has two major campuses, a modern city campus in Gardens Point, Brisbane, Gardens Point ...

in 2006, after studying business. His mother is from the United States and his father is Papua New Guinean. Nathaniel's brother,

Andrew Lepani Andrew Lepani (born 28 August 1979) was born in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, he is a footballer who played as a midfielder for PS United Port Moresby, Cosmos Port Moresby and Hekari United in the Papua New Guinea National Soccer League and t ...

, is also a footballer and has played for

, Cosmos Port Moresby and

. His father,

Charles Lepani Sir Charles Lepani, (28 October 1947 – 10 January 2025) was a Papua New Guinean public servant and diplomat. He was the country's high commissioner in Australia from 2005 to 2017 and, prior to that, had been its ambassador to both the Europe ...

, was a diplomat and served as Papua New Guinea's High Commissioner to Australia from 2005 to 2017; he is considered as one of the "Gang of Four" public servants who came to prominence after Papua New Guinea's independence in 1975. His grandmother is from the

Trobriand Islands The Trobriand Islands are a archipelago of coral atolls off the east coast of New Guinea. They are part of the nation of Papua New Guinea and are in Milne Bay Province. Most of the population of 60,000 (2016) indigenous inhabitants live on the m ...

and still lives there.Sanatoi Wedding in Port Moresby
17 January 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2012. In November 2006, Nathaniel met

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

winner

Christian Karembeu Christian Lali Kake Karembeu (born 3 December 1970) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is currently the sporting director for Olympiacos. Karembeu represented Nantes, Sampdoria, Real Madrid, Mi ...

at the launch of the

Oceania Football Confederation The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It ...

's OFC Champions League 2007.

References

External links

* *
2012 Interview with Nathaniel Lepani
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lepani, Nathaniel Living people 1982 births Papua New Guinea men's international soccer players Papua New Guinean men's soccer players Papua New Guinean expatriate men's soccer players Brisbane City FC players Queensland University of Technology alumni Eastern Stars F.C. players Morobe United F.C. players Papua New Guinean expatriate sportspeople in the United States Papua New Guinean expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football forwards Place of birth missing (living people)