FOOTBALL FOR HOPE FESTIVAL 2010

The Football for Hope Festival 2010 is an official event of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The eight Cambodian children came from remote areas of Battambang province and have been selected by the Spirit of Soccer and Football Federation of Cambodia to participate in a mini-World Cup tournament and cultural exchange in Johannesburg that bring together 32 delegations representing 50 countries from around the world.

The ceremony to welcome the eight kids was held at the National Football Centre near Cheng Meng village in Phnom Penh.

The kids consist of four girls and boys aged 15 to 18-years-old – all of whom came come from families affected by landmines.

The team met twice a month for practice in the provincial capital of Battambang where apart from honing their football, they also learn English and geography.

Among the attendees were:

– 5 officials from Spirit of Soccer ( Mr. Scott Le the founder, Mr. Sephen Sonderman Country Director, and Ms Rachel Haig Program Adviser) and Football Federation of Cambodia (Mr. Ouk Sihycheat General Secretary and Mr. Keo Saret Director of Development Office)
– 13 kids including 2 coaches (1 is female), 8 to South Africa,
– 30 players from Cambodian national Under-14 team
– representations from 9 agencies such as 3 from local Newspapers, 4 from Cambodian Televisions and 2 the foreign language newspapers (Phnom Penh Post in English and Cambodge Soir in French).