As the sun rose over a tropical backdrop, 40 football teams and their supporters gathered at Visal Club in Battambang province. While excitement was crackling in the air, the queue to have everyone’s temperature taken was an orderly one. For many of the youth coming out to play that day, it would be the first time they had the opportunity to compete in a large-scale organised event. This would also be the first time we’ve opened our annual AIA-ISF Youth League anywhere besides Cambodia’s capital city, Phnom Penh.

Starting this year, we will be holding Cambodia’s largest grassroots soccer league in two sections. With ten weeks of the League to take place in a different province annually. An additional 16 weeks of play will take place in Phnom Penh. We’re doing this in an effort to bring sports opportunities to more areas of the country.

While this is the first time the League will be held in Battambang, it is not the first time ISF has visited the province. We’ve previously held coach training workshops teaching our bespoke Social Impact curriculum tackling local relevant social issues. Interspersed with training and play, lessons cover substance abuse avoidance, gender equality, and non-violent conflict resolution. 

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On one of these visits, ISF Football Programme Manager Samedy Yin noticed the area’s youth’s keen interest. “The area is interesting because it’s far from Battambang city, near the Thai border. Kids there don’t have opportunities to play in tournaments, so there is a lot of interest in the League.” Besides our existing relationships in the area, this enthusiasm made Coach Yin believe the province to be a great place to kick off the new league structure.

And we couldn’t agree with his judgment more. The players’ exhilaration was evident in their blistering play, and the physically-distanced audience could not be contained. Yin describes, “The children there love football… We saw many of them gathering around with happiness in their eyes, clapping at every match.” U10 boys, U14 boys and girls, and U18 girls treated the crowd to a day of play not to be forgotten. Though some teams had traveled upwards of two hours to join, it didn’t appear to dampen their spirits one bit. Not only was the crowd behind the players, but reportedly the local firemen were as well. When tropical heat overtook the pitch, the department sent a fleet of trucks to give players a gentle spritz to cool them down.

The success of the event speaks highly to the future of the Youth League structure. ISF Country Manager Vicheka Chourp sees its future this way: “our 5-year plan is to expand the League to reach more kids in Cambodia’s provinces, with Battambang being the first. Our goal is to give children outside of the capital an opportunity to enjoy organized football matches which they are generally excluded from.” ISF is eager to generate the same excitement across Cambodia in the coming years as we did in Battambang.

See more photos of the event.

About the AIA-ISF Youth League

AIA Cambodia is sponsoring the League for the fourth consecutive year since 2018. This cooperation offers boys and girls from underprivileged backgrounds the opportunity to play football in a safe environment. This ten-week youth league’s ultimate aim is to help these children live healthier, longer, better lives.

In light of the ongoing global health crisis, ISF will be enacting some safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. To safeguard participants, players will all have their temperatures checked before entering the playing field and are expected to wash their hands frequently throughout the day. Team members in the dugout areas awaiting matches will adhere to physical distancing guidelines as well as spectators in the viewing area.

About AIA Cambodia

AIA (Cambodia) Life Insurance Plc (“AIA Cambodia“) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AIA Group Limited (“AIA” or “the Group”), the largest life insurer in the world by market capitalisation.

AIA Cambodia offers market-leading life insurance products and services to meet the growing need for financial protection and long-term savings of Cambodian people. AIA Cambodia is committed to contributing to the Kingdom’s economic and social development over the long term and helping Cambodians to live healthier, longer, better lives.