Shaun Brooks agrees role at Next Step FC

CPL 2 team Next Step FC have announced Shaun Brooks as their new Global Technical Director.  The announcement comes off of the back of a number of changes the club have made both on and off the pitch as they seek to improve on their 11th placed finish last season.

To read about the signing of Callum Brooks click here

Who is Shaun Books?

A former professional footballer, the former England schoolboy and youth international captain went on to gain 381 professional league appearances, representing clubs such as Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Leyton Orient. A fans favourite at AFC Bournemouth, he was recognised as a great technical midfielder, before he pursued a coaching career that took on roles at Portsmouth, Bristol City and AFC Bournemouth as head of youth, as well as managing semi-pro Dorchester Town and again at Bournemouth as first-team coach.

As to his role at the club, Head Coach of Next Step FC Charlie Pomroy had this to say `Shaun has committed to helping Next Step FC have a great season. He will be mentoring and advising in all areas. Helping us develop our players, coaches, staff and plan of growth. With the mens team, ladies team, the academy and our infrastructure plans, its safe to say Shaun’s knowledge and passion for our project will be invaluable”

The new Global Technical Director is due to visit the Kingdom for the first time from his base in Florida this April, with future plans not only including him visiting semi-regularly, but also establishing a connection between Americans and Cambodian football.

To read about Shaun Brooks click here

Linking Cambodian and American Football

As to the commercial and footballing opportunities thatBrooks and the club hoped to achieve Pomroy had this to say “Shaun is not only a famous ex-professional, but is very established within the US. As most know the Americans have a great youth setup, so we are actively exploring the possibility of how we can send promising players to the United States, so that they can train there and come back better players”

And then of course there is the huge population of Khmer-Americans, another source of players who would qualify for the Cambodian national team, with Pomroy adding “Many players of Khmer descent have presented the Cambodian national team, but they have tended to come mainly from France. We see the potential for these Khmer-Americans to not only be able to connect with their roots, but also potentially play for the national team”.

Players with dual nationality do not count as foreign players, of which there are caps on the number who may be registered or play for a club.