Phnom Penh, 27 July 2019 – The 24 children selected by AIA (Cambodia) Life Insurance Plc (“AIA Cambodia”) and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (“Spurs”) to receive AIA Elite Football Camp scholarships began their journey to Phuket, Thailand this morning. The scholarships were awarded in a recent promotion by AIA Cambodia with the goal of helping Cambodia’s youth develop healthy lifestyle habits while providing them the opportunity to access world-class football coaching.

The children departed from the Phnom Penh International Airport along with 4 caretakers under the supervision of AIA Cambodia’s Head of Marketing, Mrs. Khieu Vorakchan. They are set to return on Friday 2 August 2019. As part of the scholarship, they will get 2 full sets of football attire, travel insurance, medical insurance and daily nutrition tracking. The children are set to have a packed schedule over the 6-day programme and will receive lessons and practical sessions on core football skills, advice on how to develop confidence and independence as well as guidance on optimum nutrition.

Mrs. Khieu Vorakchan said: “The training camp is incredibly well rounded and will focus on a variety of key areas, ensuring the children are given an in-depth knowledge of advanced football skills as well as the latest information on healthy living. I am looking forward to seeing how they grow and develop over the course of the programme, and I’m sure they can’t wait to have a great time in Phuket, to absorb the positive impacts for themselves and to share them with their families.”

The training programme will be run by International Development Coaches from Spurs and will include practical sessions on 1 vs 1, shooting skills, 3 vs 3 matches, plus a tournament at the end of the week. In the classroom they will be learning about injury prevention, sports psychology, and nutrition. Each child will also be tasked with writing a daily diary and will have a personalised feedback session with the coaches to analyse their progress. The training will take place at the Thanyapura Health and Sports Resort in Phuket, one of the region’s leading wellness destinations that also has world-class training facilities.

This programme is only possible because AIA is the Global Principal Partner of Spurs, a leading football club in the English Premier League. As a result of this partnership Spurs have based three of their International Development Coaches within Asia to assist AIA in helping young people develop their interest in football and healthy living.

AIA Cambodia’s management Pauline Teoh said: “We are pleased that with our connection with a world-class football team like Spurs, 24 talented children has the privilege to enjoy an exclusive football scholarship.  The children will enhance their already promising football ability and learn a variety of new skills which they can further develop as they go forward in their lives.”

The parents of each child were given detailed information on the programme’s schedule at a briefing session held by AIA Cambodia on 21 June 2019. All parents in attendance previously received AIA’s leading life insurance solutions between 15 March and 30 June 2019. As a result, they were offered an opportunity for their child to attend an evaluation session run by Spurs coaches at AIA Stadium on 08 June 2019. The goal of the evaluation session was to find the children with the highest footballing ability, out of which the best 24 were chosen to receive the scholarship.

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$230 billion as of 31 December 2018. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 33 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 Tottenham Hotspur

Founded in 1882, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has a tradition of playing an entertaining and attacking style of football. The team finished fourth in the 2018/2019 Premier League season, securing UEFA Champions League qualification for a fourth year in a row and were a Champions League finalist this year for the first time in their history.

Tottenham Hotspur also has:

• A global following in excess of more than 460 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