Phnom Penh, 03 September 2018 – Indochina Starfish Foundation (ISF), a local children’s charity working in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh, has been officially shortlisted for Beyond Sport’s Sport for Health and Well-being Award. Selected from over 400 applications, from 100+ countries and covering 50+ sports, the shortlist recognises innovative work from organisations and individuals creating positive social impact in communities around the world through sport. One of ISF’s star players and coach, Tith Sovannara has also been shortlisted for the Courageous Use of Sport Award, supported by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

ISF’s work centres on providing quality education, healthcare and access to sport and play to some of Cambodia’s most disadvantaged and marginalised youth. All of ISF’s students live in extreme poverty where opportunities to engage in competitive sport and access to grounds are limited. The organisation offers boys and girls of all abilities and from all backgrounds rare opportunities to play football and be physically active. All of their coaches are trained in child protection, social impact education and supporting players with a range of needs including but not limited to: deaf/hearing-impaired, blind/vision-impaired, wheelchair users, and youth affected by HIV.

ISF’s football programme includes a full annual schedule consisting of weekly coaching sessions, annual tournaments, a youth league and various other festivals and events. Through their Sport for Social Impact project, ISF teaches over 1,600 young people about health and well-being, and provides a safe space for marginalised children to be physically active, make friends and have fun; all of which contribute to their mental and physical well-being. “If it hadn’t been for ISF I’m sure I’d have ended up like other people I grew up with, involved in drugs or gangs,” says Coach Sovannara, who joined ISF’s football programme at just thirteen years old and is one of the five individuals shortlisted for this year’s international Courageous Use of Sport Award, supported by WWE.

The Courageous Use of Sport Award shines a “spotlight on the individuals who are a driving force behind social change,” says Stephanie McMahon, WWE Chief Brand Officer. Sovannara is a shining example of how sport can create legacies of positive social change within communities. The twenty-three-year-old grew up in the infamous slum of Boueng Kak in Phnom Penh with little access to education and faced a bleak future until his life was changed by his passion for football. Now a qualified football coach, Sovannara’s life’s mission is to “pay it back”, and bring football to children living in extreme poverty in rural communities. Recently, Sovannara left ISF to create his own grassroots NGO called Play To Progress with the aim of introducing sport as a way out and forward for Cambodian youth.

On September 12, representatives from ISF will attend the 10^th annual Beyond Sport Global Awards ceremony at One World Observatory at One World Trade, New York, where the winners of each category will be announced. Speaking of the shortlist, ISF’s country manager Vicheka Chourp, said that she is “honored to see ISF’s work in community-based football for social change being recognised at such a prestigious and international level