CAMBODIAN FA HOSPITALITY AT NAGAWORLD

The teams – Laos, Brunei, Timor Leste and the Philippines – are being housed in one of the finest hotels in the capital city of Phnom Penh at the Nagaworld where its location beside the Mekong makes it not only picturesque but also kind to the mind and soul.

And the teams – apart from the Cambodia national team who are at the National Training Centre in Chaeng Maeng half an hour away – will certainly need the calmness before the storm of the qualifiers which kicks-off in two days.

Every possible need of the teams have been looked into by the organizing committee under the chairmanship of His Excellency Ravy Khek as far as getting the right accommodation, the meetings rooms, transportations and training requirements.

Other than having a session at the National Olympic Stadium in these two days, the teams have also been given two facilities at the Army Stadium (15 minutes from Nagaworld) and the Royal Sword FC field (30 minutes) for their daily training.

And the organizing committee has even gone so far as making sure that those players who are Muslim will only eat halal food to the extent of getting the meats and poultry only from Muslim butchers.

Nagaworld has even made sure that the kitchens as well as the equipments ad utensils are brand new where considering the Malaysian-based venture is a new addition to the Phnom Penh skyline, one can understand their enthusiasm for what is certainly the biggest football event in the country thus far.

All these efforts apart from wanting to show that the FFC can be good hosts – a follow-up to their successful organization of the AFF Under-17 meet last year – are also aimed at fostering sportsmanship.

In a big tournament like the AFF Suzuki Cup 2008 qualifiers, every care and precaution should be looked into to make sure that not only the officials are well-kept but also the athletes will not have any grouses to blame on for their lack of performance afterwards.

As athletes, their state of mind is very important and certainly the two hosts of the main event in December – Thailand and Jakarta – can pick up on some of the pointers here in Cambodia.

PIC: The Timor Leste national team were the first to arrive at the Nagaworld this morning to be followed by Laos later in the afternoon.