From correspondents in Phnom Penh
Herald Sun (Australia)
A CAMBODIAN soccer team comprised entirely of homeless teenagers has been invited to play in next year's Homeless World Cup in Australia.
The trip would mark the first international play for a growing number of organisations that field sports teams made up of homeless or orphaned children in Cambodia.
"They want homeless children to have a chance to play soccer and to see the world," Khun Sokrin, project manager and coach at the Happy Football Project, which has been invited to compete in the World Cup, said.
The annual tournament is organised in partnership with the European Football Federation, and offers teams made up entirely of homeless people the chance to compete against each other.
Some 500 players from 48 countries, including several developing nations, will attend this year's World Cup in Denmark which starts on July 29.
Khun Sokrin said the Cambodian side still had to raise the funds to travel to the 2008 tournament.
"We hope (to attend the tournament), but we cannot say what our odds of going are, because we are responsible for all the expenses,'' he said.
"We don't know the result, but we will try our best to do it," he added.
Khek Ravy, vice president of the Football Federation of Cambodia, said international play offered invaluable experience for young Cambodian footballers, and was essential for the country's feeder programmes.
"It is very important, they will face strong players and when they return, they would have new ideas and hope," he said.
Cambodia's football program has struggled for respect after a series of scandals and a dismal performance record.
Battered by its opponents abroad, the national side is ranked 169 out of 208 teams, according to world football body FIFA.
The trip would mark the first international play for a growing number of organisations that field sports teams made up of homeless or orphaned children in Cambodia.
"They want homeless children to have a chance to play soccer and to see the world," Khun Sokrin, project manager and coach at the Happy Football Project, which has been invited to compete in the World Cup, said.
The annual tournament is organised in partnership with the European Football Federation, and offers teams made up entirely of homeless people the chance to compete against each other.
Some 500 players from 48 countries, including several developing nations, will attend this year's World Cup in Denmark which starts on July 29.
Khun Sokrin said the Cambodian side still had to raise the funds to travel to the 2008 tournament.
"We hope (to attend the tournament), but we cannot say what our odds of going are, because we are responsible for all the expenses,'' he said.
"We don't know the result, but we will try our best to do it," he added.
Khek Ravy, vice president of the Football Federation of Cambodia, said international play offered invaluable experience for young Cambodian footballers, and was essential for the country's feeder programmes.
"It is very important, they will face strong players and when they return, they would have new ideas and hope," he said.
Cambodia's football program has struggled for respect after a series of scandals and a dismal performance record.
Battered by its opponents abroad, the national side is ranked 169 out of 208 teams, according to world football body FIFA.
1 comment:
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