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Page 1: Cambodia's World CupBy Troy Chak
Friday, June 7th, 2002
As billions watch the World Cup hosted in Asia for the first time ever, the dream of soccer is just beginning again in Cambodia. The national team is currently ranked near the bottom in the world of football, but my father tells us stories of the great Khmer players of the past. In a country torn by war, organized football was virtually lost during the political unrest of the past two decades.
Under leadership of Cambodia Football Federation president Khek Ravy, football is growing again in the country. Since rejoining the Federation International Football Association (FIFA) in 1994, Cambodia has made steady progress in international competition and in the development of young athletes. Sports have received support from both the International Olympic Committee and FIFA.
 Last year, FIFA made a substantial contribution to help construct a technical and administrative center near Pochentong Airport in Cambodia. The center will consist of a practice field, administrative facilities and various accommodations. The program is estimated at over $500,000 and scheduled for completion later this year. The old but newly renovated Olympic Stadium now has a capacity of 50,000 seats. The stadium in Phnom Penh was the site for several Cambodian World Cup qualifying games in 2001.
Although Cambodia was held scoreless in all of their World Cup qualifiers in 1997, they built on the experience gained from their first FIFA tournament. Later that year, the team competed at the South East Asian (SEA) Games and won two matches including wins against Brunei and Myanmar. The victories were the first two wins in international competition for Cambodia since the 1960s.
During the World Cup qualifiers in 2001, Cambodia was placed in a tough group. Although, most of their matches were lopsided losses, the national team played well in a 3-1 loss against the heavily favored China side. Cambodia also had a draw against Maldives, their first ever World Cup point. The strong effort against Maldives was partly inspired by the return of Cambodias best player to the national team. |
Disclaimer: KC articles are pubished for the information and entertainment of members of KC. The material published is selected for its interest and the views expressed therein are not necessarily those of KC nor its staff. |
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