PHNOM PENH: As living proof of how circumstances can change, a group of young Cambodian footballers are about to go from fearing the sounds of Thai shelling to admiring the bright lights of Singapore.
A group of players from Siem Reap province’s O’Roung village have been selected by Happy Football Cambodia Australia (HFCA) to represent Cambodia in the JSSL 7s Singapore Tournament U1 girl’s competition, for the first time.
Lek Sreytey and two of her friends, all students at O’Roung Primary School, in Svay Leu district’s Ta Siem commune, were selected. They will join seven other girls from across the Kingdom and travel to Singapore to compete in the tournament, scheduled to take place from April 2 to 5.
Although Sreytey has played football since the age of nine, the 14-year-old never imagined she would one day travel abroad.
Training opportunities for Sreytey and other children in O’Roung increased during the period when schools were temporarily closed due to Thai military attacks and shelling that targeted Cambodian territory.
“I’ve been training for more than four years. But where I live there aren’t many coaches or competitions. During the conflict, we kept playing football, even though we were afraid of artillery shells,” she explained.
“Even though I want to become a professional footballer and play for different clubs, I never imagined I would have the chance to compete abroad because I’m the child of farmers in a remote area and we don’t have the means to travel overseas,” she added.
She said she was extremely happy to have been selected for the trip to Singapore.
“I’m very excited that HFCA chose us to compete in Singapore. I’m looking forward to seeing the outside world and how big and beautiful it is. I also hope to gain new experiences that I can share with friends and other children back in O’Roung,” she added.
Speaking about the difficult situation villagers in O’Roung faced during the border clashes, Roeun Sreypov, principal of O’Roung Primary School, noted that the village lies close to the border. During the conflict, students studied and played football in constant fear because shells were landing near the school.
“We were all afraid,” she said.
“While we were playing football, we could hear artillery shells landing near the school and shaking the ground. We were forced to close the school because it was too dangerous to continue studying,” she explained.
The 32-year-old added that conditions have since calmed, and the school was thrilled to learn about the opportunity to travel to Singapore.
“It’s not only the students— even we teachers never imagined we would fly to another country like Singapore and participate in such a big event,” she said.
“We are grateful to HFCA for giving this opportunity to our remote school. We hope to gain new experiences that will help us improve our abilities and share what we learn with other students and teachers who have not yet had such opportunities,” she added.
Three additional girls from Srah Srang village in Nokor Thom commune, Siem Reap town, were also selected.
So Channary, a teacher at Hun Sen Srah Srang Primary School, welcomed the opportunity and will travel with the group.
“At our school many students train in football, but we usually only compete within the village, commune or district,” she said.
“We never expected to compete abroad because we don’t have the financial means. So when we heard our school would go to Singapore, everyone was very happy. Even the children who weren’t selected are now more motivated to train harder so they might have a chance to compete overseas in the future,” she noted.
HFCA founder Paraic Grogan explained that the organisation previously sent a Cambodian girls’ team to the tournament in 2023.
The 10-member under-16 team traveling this year will compete in at least seven matches across five venues at the tournament, which will see more than 6.000 athletes and coaches take part in its 11th edition.
“HFCA is absolutely delighted that our girls’ team will gain the experience of participating in such an incredible football tournament in beautiful Singapore,” Grogan said.
HFCA board member Reth Sarita noted that every girl deserves the chance to compete.
“Traveling abroad to compete is a special opportunity that encourages them to think bigger and see the wider world,” she said.
“It is a valuable experience they can use to develop themselves and share with many other children across Cambodia,” she added. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
