Cup kick-off

I've been trying to tone down the number of football-related posts in recent times after the glut of them during the SEA Games in the last few months. However, I must mention that the preliminary round of the 2010 Hun Sen Cup kicks-off this afternoon, with 8 games taking place in 4 provincial locations across the country. The big boys of the CPL are out in the sticks, with the champions Naga playing in Siem Reap, cup holders Phnom Penh Crown up in Battambang, whilst other matches will be played in Kep and Svay Rieng. The teams in the eight groups will all play each other with the aim of qualifying for the last 16 round which will be played at the National Stadium in Phnom Penh. Naga, PPCrown and Khemara have each lost their coach in the close season, so will have new faces at the helm this time around, whilst Spark FC have changed their name to Wat Phnom. A few players have changed clubs, like national defender Chan Dara, who has left Khemara Keila for Crown, who've also signed babyfaced striker Heng Sokly from Phouchung Neak, but so far the movement of players has been pretty minimal. The Hun Sen Cup only allows Cambodian players to play in the competition this year, so any talk of the foreign players in the team line-ups will wait for a couple of months until we get closer to the CPL season.