On Sunday, 21st May 2017, the ISF Youth League 2016 – 2017, which was launched in late November 2016, successfully closed at the ISF Sports Ground, Phnom Penh after 17 weeks of exciting competitions. With 95 teams and a brand new U18 Boys League, the ISF Youth League provided a lot of joy and fun to over 1700 disadvantaged players, their coaches and supporter s.

Each year, more and more players, schools and organizations from the poorest areas of Phnom Penh and surrounding provinces express the interest in playing at the ISF Youth League, where they have the opportunity to compete, showcase their talents, play on quality football pitches and build new friendships. The ISF Youth League has certainly created a space where players have fun and promote sportsmanship and teamwork.

Following 15 weeks of challenging but fun competition, the qualifying teams were seen training even harder in preparation for the semi-finals and finals. They did not underestimate their rivals, but studied their opponents’ tactics to avoid any mistakes on the football pitch.

On the day of the finals, all the teams were very nervous but excited about the games. Supporters from Phnom Penh, Kampong Speu, Takeo and Kandal provinces gathered together to cheer their teams on. After a tense round of final matches, the winners of each division were announced. We were especially proud of one of the U10 boys teams from an ISF new sponsored school, who played extremely well, winning the U10 league title. Below are the results of the finals:

  1. U18 Boys League Winner: KCD
  2. U14 Champion League Winner: Sunrise Kampong Speu
  3. U14 Premier League Winner: Robas Angkanh School (The Mekong Rangers)
  4. U10 Boys League Winner: Rolous Primary School (ISF Eagles)
  5. U14 Girls League Winner: Samrong High School (CLC Phnom Penh)
  6. U18 Girls League Winner: ISF SMC

The ISF Youth League 2016-2017 was a big success and it was wonderful to see so many new teams involved. None of this would have been possible without our football sponsors – thank you! A big thank you also goes to the ISF football staff for their efforts to make the league grow year by year.