Finding the cream of Cambodia

Finding the cream of Cambodia

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It all starts tomorrow. The search for the best young footballing talent aged 13 and under in the country begins in earnest at 8am tomorrow morning at the Olympic Stadium. Phnom Penh Crown's desire to fill the 22 places in their Elite Football Academy that will begin in November, with the cream of the country's most talented youngsters, will take the club's coaches on a nationwide hunt throughout the month of October as they crisscross the provinces as follows:

4th Phnom Penh; 5th Kompong Chhnang; 10th Pursat and Battambang; 12th Banteay Meanchey; 14th Kompong Cham; 15th Kompong Thom; 16th Siem Reap; 18th Kratie; 19th Stung Treng; 21st Prey Veng; 22nd Svay Rieng; 24th Kandal; 25th Takeo; 27th Kampot/Kep; 28th Sihanoukville; 29th Koh Kong.

The best players that are unearthed will be invited to Phnom Penh for final trials in early November and from those, 22 young boys will be given the opportunity of a lifetime to turn their dream of becoming a professional footballer into a reality, as part of PPCFC's residential football academy.

Nothing like this has been attempted before in Cambodia, this is new ground that PPCFC are breaking and judging by the professional approach they are adopting, it will serve as a model for this kind of development of grassroots football in the kingdom.