You would think that sport teams seek to field the strongest side possible, right? Well, not in Cambodia.
Cambodia has banned foreign players from taking part in the Hun Sen Cup (named after the country's long-serving prime minister) competition for being "too good." Rather than learning from these apparently more talented foreign players, the organizers of the Cup have decided that the best way for Cambodian football to improve is to incubate Cambodian players from a higher level of the game.
Sao Sokha, chairman of the Cambodian Football Federation, justified the decision by noting that "They're taller, stronger and more experienced, so it's unfair if we let them play...They're too good compared with Cambodian players."
The ruling means that mainly North Korean, Nigerian and Brazilian imports will have to sit it out until May before the new league season begins.
Cambodia has banned foreign players from taking part in the Hun Sen Cup (named after the country's long-serving prime minister) competition for being "too good." Rather than learning from these apparently more talented foreign players, the organizers of the Cup have decided that the best way for Cambodian football to improve is to incubate Cambodian players from a higher level of the game.
Sao Sokha, chairman of the Cambodian Football Federation, justified the decision by noting that "They're taller, stronger and more experienced, so it's unfair if we let them play...They're too good compared with Cambodian players."
The ruling means that mainly North Korean, Nigerian and Brazilian imports will have to sit it out until May before the new league season begins.
2 comments:
Good for people to know.
Get your facts straight. Foreign players will be allowed to play in the 10-team Cambodian Premier League beginning at the end of March and those imports are primarily from African countries like Nigeria. We have no Korean or Brazilian players in the Cambodian league.
Moreover, the move to only play homegrown players in the Hun Sen Cup is to provide the local players with more experience and to identify the best players for the national team. When the foreign imports play they often dominate the matches and leave promising Khmer youngsters on the bench. The Hun Sen Cup gives those players a chance to impress.
Your headline and article tells only half a story.
Andy
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