The future

Today's Phnom Penh Post article

The last of my reports from the adventures of the Cambodian U23 team that competed in the SEA Games is published in the Phnom Penh Post today. It's a round-up piece with national coach Scott O'Donell giving his views on what happened and what needs to happen in the future. Scott will submit a detailed report to the country's football federation of the team's showing at the SEA Games and what he would like to see take place in the future, taking into account the best practice from other nations. Preparation is a key element to any tournament and getting that right is a minefield in itself. One national team for example, Indonesia, sent their squad to Uruguay for months on end to hone their skills but still failed to reach the semi-finals of the SEA Games football competition. They also have a budget set aside for the national team of over $3 million. There is no guarantee for winning whatever the preparations are, you just have a better chance of success if your preparations are right. Some countries like Singapore have their best young stars playing together in league competition and yet Singapore, who gave us a footballing lesson in Phnom Penh a few months ago, failed to reach the SEA Games final too. As I said it's a minefield and Cambodia have had to negotiate a lot of those already just to get where they are today. There is no panacea to becoming a success overnight. It takes time, careful planning and a concerted effort from all sides and that vision of the future is what the Cambodian football federation must address sooner rather than later.
You can read the article online here.