Red Cross and Cambodian Wheelchair Basketball Federation sign partnership

As reported via press release yesterday the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Cambodian Wheelchair Federation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covering mutual understanding of cooperation and partnership to support the Cambodian wheelchair basketball team.

You can read the press release here.

The MoU was signed by ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Program Manager Marc Zlot and Cambodian Wheelchair Basketball Federation President H.E. Ly Thuch in the presence of Mr. Seu Muy, Secretary General of CWBF and Mr. Gabriel Tan, Chief Communications Officer of Prince Holding Group, at the ICRC office in Phnom Penh.

Prince Holding Group have been both a key partner in de-mining within Cambodia, as well as a sponsor of the CWBF, which is predominately played by victims of landmines within Cambodia.

To read about de-mining in Cambodia click here.

Setting up a Wheelchair Basketball League

One of the main points of the meeting were with regards to setting up a Wheelchair Basketball League within the Kingdom, with Mr. Marc Zlot stating, “ICRC looks forward to exploring together with CWBF avenues to increase social integration of persons with disabilities through wheelchair basketball sport. The signing of this MoU is the foundation to create a wheelchair basketball league in Cambodia and to promote social inclusion.”

H.E. Dr. Ly Thuch further added “I am deeply grateful to the ICRC for their generous support of the Cambodian Wheelchair Basketball Team since 2012. This sponsorship has inspired the team to be successful and I hope that our men’s and women’s teams will be able to bring home a gold medal when Cambodia hosts the 12th ASEAN Para Games in May 2023,”

It is hoped the league will provide further exposure to the sport, which Cambodia has been particularly successful at.

A Background to Wheelchair Basketball in Cambodia

The first Cambodian wheelchair basketball team was created by the ICRC in 2012 to provide training and development opportunities for athletes with disabilities. The CWBF was later initiated by the Red Cross and integrated with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport in 2020.

In the 2022 (11th) ASEAN Para Games in Indonesia, the Cambodian women’s 3×3 wheelchair basketball team scored gold medal on behalf of the Kingdom, with high hopes of further medals in the 2023 incarnation.