It’s footy season. And by footy, I mean football, or soccer, as some of us like to call it. While there is Australian football, American football and rugby, it’s the game with the white round ball, fake ankle injuries for penalties and shirts pulled over heads in victory. And it’s got Cambodia talking.
Played by 265 million people, football is the world’s most popular sport. It is a game that not only unites a nation, but the globe, with 209 countries registered with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
Football is not only famous for its action on the field, it’s also renowned for its antics behind the goals. It’s a game of controversy as well as a game of tactics. While FIFA’s top officials are fighting corruption charges, the Indonesian team has been suspended from the World Cup qualifiers for government meddling. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Real Madrid, reportedly earns $79 million a year, while lower down the scale England’s Wayne Rooney takes home a measly $25.8 million a year.
So just why is football so popular in Cambodia and why have you seen so many jerseys on the streets lately? The game, in fact, has a long history in Cambodia. The Football Federation of Cambodia was founded in 1933, and has been a member of FIFA since 1953 and the Asian Football Confederation from 1957.
Cambodia was one of the strongest teams in the region in the ‘50s, ‘60s and early ‘70s, finishing fourth in the 1972 Asian Cup. While football experienced a hiatus from the mid ‘70s to the early ‘90s it came back with a vengeance in 1998 with Cambodia playing its first qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup.
Currently ranked 178 in the world, the Cambodian national team, the Angkor Warriors, may not be taking home the World Cup anytime soon. But they are committed to developing and improving to become a serious competitor in the Asian region, and their fans are right behind them.
The recent turnout of 50,000 spectators to the joint 2018 FIFA World Cup-2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers versus Singapore and Afghanistan, saw the Olympic Stadium truly come alive. The atmosphere was truly electric as mobile phone torches lit up the sky and punters young and old performed the Mexican wave chanting, “Kampuchea.” As one official put it, “I have never seen anything like it.”
Decked out in blue and red, with almost every jersey vendor out of stock, supporters were there to see not only their national heroes but their favourite players from the Cambodian Premier League – the Metfone C-League – such as striker Khim Borey and captain Kouch Sokumpheak, who both play for Nagaworld FC, and attacker Chan Vathanaka who plays for Boeung Ket Angkor.
Borey, No.7 for the Angkor Warriors and No.17 for NagaWorld, has played football since he was 13. He’s played professionally since the age of 20 and he believes that for Cambodian football to develop and improve the local league needs a fan base like that of the Angkor Warriors.
“We need more supporters like the national team for football to grow in Cambodia,” Borey says. “I was sad when we lost the qualifier to Afghanistan but was so happy with the number of fans that came out to support us. It is an honour to play for Cambodia and I love playing football, especially as it is a team sport.”
The next season of the Metfone C-League kicks off on July 1, in which 12 local teams will fight it out for the top honours, while the last two finishing teams face relegation. If you haven’t already adopted a team, do it. Even if you are a football novice, it doesn’t matter – just choose your favourite colour and get among it.
For those of you who missed the recent World Cup/Asian Cup qualifiers, be sure to head to the Olympic Stadium and watch the Angkor Warriors take on Syria in September. If dealing with crowds isn’t your thing, then head to your local sports bar that has plenty of cold beer a screen that will project the season’s action.