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The Cambodian national volleyball team will play a series of friendly matches against their counterparts from Singapore, France and Malaysia next month.
This was according to information provided by the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC).
This new development comes after the Volleyball Federation of Cambodia (VFC), with the help of partners in Government and the private sector, announced the strengthening of its capacity in anticipation of the 2023 Southeast Asian Games.
Prince Group, one of the leading business conglomerates in the Kingdom, is one of the strongest supports of the VFC and the Cambodian national volleyball team. The VFC also hired several Cuban coaches to bolster their chances ahead of the SEA Games.
The VFC has yet to release the exact venue and date for the matches. “But it will be held in Phnom Penh in February,” a statement released by the organisation noted.
Cambodia will not be playing the French senor team, only the U-19 team, the VFC clarified.
“We will try to play strong teams, to help improve the performance of our team,” VFC Secretary-General Aing Sereypiseth said.
“We have contacted many volleyball federations in Southeast Asia, Southeast Asia and the rest of the world. We want our team to reach the highest international levels, especially that the 2023 Games is approaching,” he added.
The French men’s volleyball team is one of the strongest in the world, manifested by their gold medal finish during the 2020 Olympics in Japan.
Earlier, Cambodia played friendly matches against the U-21 team of Cuba and the national volleyball team of Singapore.
The Cambodians outlasted Cuba, which has some of the best volleyball teams in the world. Likewise, spikers from the Kingdom scored a narrow victory over the Singaporeans.
The win was surprising for many people, and gave the VFC, which is headed by National Police chief Neth Savoeun, and Cambodian fans reasons for optimism going forward.
“I think it is clear who the favourites are. When Cambodia defeated the Thais to claim bronze, they dominated the match. I would not be surprised to see them get even stronger,” Volleyball Federation of Singapore (VFS) Secretary-General Chia Min Chong said, after learning that the Cambodian men’s team, to the surprise of many sports observers, beat the Thais to win the bronze medal during the 2021 SEA Games in Vietnam.
NOCC is banking on volleyball as one of the sports that could bring a medal for Cambodia in the next SEA Games, which is going to be held from May 5 to 17 in Phnom Penh and other parts of the Kingdom.
Volleyball is one of 38 sports listed for the 2023 Games, the biggest sport event that Cambodia will ever host since the 1966 Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO), which is often referred to as the ‘Olympics’ of countries aligned with the former Soviet Union.
The 1966 or 2nd GANEFO drew North Korea, China and several other countries.