From 28th to 29th July, ISF organised a two-day football festival for over 300 children and young people at the Development for People of Cambodia (DPC) Trampaung School in Oddar Meanchey Province.

The school has more than 500 students in grades 1 to 6. The people in the villages around the school live in extreme poverty. Most of them sell food from home, work in the forest or migrate in Thailand where they are often exploited. For the children in these communities, the DPC Trampaung School is their only opportunity to receive an education, as there are no other public schools in the area. However, many children drop out as distance is often a barrier. Furthermore, they rarely get the chance to play and just be children because they have to work to support their families.

The children from the school had a blast during the ISF Football Festival. Alongside friendly matches, ISF was able to include a Coaches Across Continents (CAC) training for 30 youths, who were introduced to football for social impact. This extension to the football festival was very well received and added more value to the event.

Both the participants and the school director were delighted with the programme, and we hope to continue to collaborate with them in the near future, reaching those who would otherwise not have access to sports opportunities and providing them with a chance to have fun.