[12] In July 2012, PNGFA President and league founder David Chung was named as a recipient of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

[19][20] Eventually, however, the season concluded on 1 June, with Hekari United claiming their seventh consecutive title, winning 3–0 against FC Port Moresby in the Grand Final.

[25] In April 2014, Morobe FC's owner Tuguyawini Libe Parindali accused the National Soccer League of being too expensive', claiming that there was 'no incentive to keep competing in the division.

[26] On the pitch, Hekari United were awarded their eighth consecutive league title on 24 May 2014, despite the Grand Final being abandoned after 70 minutes due to crowd violence.

[28] Some claimed that the referee was biased towards Hekari United, with the decision to send off Lae captain Kohu Liem causing the fan outrage, while others blamed the organisers, who failed to clear supporters who had not paid for the event away from the stadium.

[28][29][30][31] Ahead of the 2015 season, Gigira Laitepo, who had sponsored Morobe FC for the entirety of their eight-year league history, withdrew their sponsorship, throwing the franchise into disarray.

[34] The 2015-16 season saw unprecedented interest, with 12 clubs successfully signing up, and the organisers taking a decision to split the division into two zones, northern and southern.

[39] The following day, Kapi Natto declared that Hekari United, along with 11 of the 18 other associations affiliated with the PNGFA, would be pulling out of the upcoming National Soccer League season.

[40] On 2 February 2017, Hekari United were disqualified from the 2017 OFC Champions League after the PNGFA filed a formal complaint against the club and Kapi Natto.

[41][42] The ruling claimed that by making 'numerous derogatory public statements regarding the PNGFA', as well as several players failing to report for international duty, the club had 'engaged in behaviour that damaged the integrity of football.

[44] The 2017 National Soccer League kicked off in May, with only 4 of the 12 clubs from the previous season remaining: Lae City Dwellers, Madang FC, PS Huawei and Besta PNG United.

After several deferred and even cancelled matches, the season was set to conclude with the playoffs in August, despite tense political developments in certain areas of the country due to the national election.

In early January, shortly after the season began, the PNGFA were banned from using all PNG Sports Foundation facilities due to outstanding payments from the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, which took place in the country.

[49] On May 3, it was decided that all the remaining matches were to be forfeited, as only four sides – Toti City, Besta PNG Utd, Morobe Wawens and Madang – had paid their affiliation fee in full.

[58][59] Plans for the 2019 season were announced in November 2018, with the expectation that the league would be played in four separate regions: Southern (Papua), Northern (Momase), Highlands and Islands.

On 30 March, Laiwaden FC goalkeeper Mikes Gewa was kicked in the ribs by Morobe Wawens' Jason Farrock, and the player was hospitalised.

[64] It was then revealed that the National Soccer League hadn't taken out medical insurance to cover its players, continuing that it would likely be the case for the following season, and that both the NSL and the clubs taking part had overlooked the issue and should share the blame.

[66] PNGFA chairman Kapi Natto responded to the criticism by distancing the association, which only gives advice on how the competition should be run, from the management of the NSL itself, and stating that he believed the draws were done 'after taking into consideration the costs involved.

[68] The start of the 2019–20 season was delayed several times, having originally planned an expansion to include a two-tier system, with a national Premier Division and a regional Conference Competition.

[71] The season was completed without much controversy, despite an enforced five-month break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Lae City picking up their sixth title after a 1–0 victory over Vitiaz United in the Grand Final.