Phnom Penh, 22 February 2019 – Cambodian National Competitions Committee (“CNCC”) and AIA (Cambodia) Life Insurance Plc (“AIA Cambodia”) launched a joint grassroots football programme today in conjunction with English Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (“Spurs”). The programme, fully supported by AIA Cambodia and entitled “Coach the Coaches on Grassroots Football Development”, saw two of Spurs’ Global Football Development coaches train 28 of their counterparts from the Cambodian Football League and 10 from CNCC to help develop Cambodian football at grassroots level.
The first workshop of the four-part initiative was held at the American University of Phnom Penh and included classroom-based teaching sessions and group tasks. The two Spurs coaches, Anton Blackwood and Shaun Harris, spent the morning introducing attendees to the Spurs grassroots player/coach development programme and explaining the benefits of implementing football initiatives for younger age groups.
Coach Anton Blackwood said: “The first session was about introducing everyone to the history of Tottenham Hotspur’s grassroots player/coach development programme and the benefits it can have for younger players who are just starting to learn the game. Over the course of this year, we will be going into greater depth and doing more practical sessions out on the pitch, which I’m sure everyone is looking forward to.”
AIA is the Global Principal Partner of Spurs. As part of this partnership, Spurs have based two of their Global Football Development coaching staff within Asia to assist AIA in helping young people develop their interest in football and live healthier, longer, better lives.
AIA Cambodia CEO Richard Bates said: “We’re proud to be able to bring two highly experienced football coaches from a leading Premier League club to Cambodia to help train and inspire their Cambodian counterparts in the Cambodian National League and CNCC. Football is inherently about teamwork and healthy living, two things that we highly value at AIA, so we are extremely excited about the impact that this programme could have on the future of the sport here.”
The programme will run throughout 2019 with three more scheduled sessions that will involve both classroom and practical training out on the football pitch. Among the topics to be covered are how to develop a holistic training approach, how to create the right training environment and tips on building a successful 6-week grassroots training programme.
Mr. Choun Chum, one of the participating coaches, said: “The first session of the programme was very interesting and taught me a lot about the importance of having a high standard of grassroots football training. The Spurs coaches were also hugely knowledgeable and incredibly engaging, so it is an honour to learn from them.”
Mr. Chhaing Pisedth, Executive Secretary of CNCC, added that the initiative was an encouraging sign for Cambodian football and would have a positive effect on participation of the sport in the Kingdom.
“Through our joint programme with AIA and a world-famous club like Tottenham Hotspur, we hope that we can have a noticeable impact on the quality of football coaching in Cambodia, particularly for younger people who may one day become players for the national team,” Mr. Chhaing Pisedth said.
About AIA Cambodia
AIA (Cambodia) Life Insurance Plc (“AIA Cambodia”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of AIA Group Limited (“AIA” or “the Group”), the largest life insurer in the world by market capitalisation.
The Group has a presence in 18 markets in Asia-Pacific – wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau, Brunei, Cambodia, a 97 per cent subsidiary in Sri Lanka, a 49 percent joint venture in India and a representative office in Myanmar. AIA is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$221 billion as of 30 June 2018. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 32 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.
AIA Cambodia offers market-leading life insurance products and services to meet the growing need for financial protection and long-term savings of people in Cambodia. AIA Cambodia is committed to contributing to the Kingdom’s economic and social development over the long term, and help Cambodians live healthier, longer, better lives.
About CNCC
Cambodian National Competitions Committee (“CNCC”) is a governing body of Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC). In late 2016, CNCC was established for a purpose to look after domestic football matches for a reason to improve the Hun Sen Cup and the Metfone Cambodian League, and it has His Excellency Dy Vichea as a Chairman. CNCC has 4 offices: Technical & Competition, Administration, Finance, and Marketing & Media Communications. At present, CNCC runs the Hun Sen Cup and the Metfone Cambodian League.
About Tottenham Hotspur
Founded in 1882, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has a tradition of playing an entertaining and attacking style of football. The team finished third in the 2017/2018 Premier League season, achieving UEFA Champions League qualification for a third year in a row, and has a multi-national squad of players.
Tottenham Hotspur also has:
- A global following in excess of 400 million, with strong supporter bases across the UK, Europe, USA and Asia
- Over 190 Official Supporters Clubs worldwide, including a fully mobilised and active Club in Cambodia
- A newly-built state-of-the-art training centre with a new world class stadium opening soon that will sit at the heart of a major regeneration for North London
- Commercial partnerships with globally-recognised brands including AIA Group Limited (AIA), one of the world's leading providers of life insurance services, and Nike, the world’s leading sports footwear and apparel company
- An award-winning Foundation that has created 3 million opportunities to help enhance the lives of people in its local community through education, employment, health and social inclusion programmes
