Japan a boost to Cambodian football

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Japan and Cambodia have maintained close cooperation in many sectors, although their collaboration in football is one which is easily overlooked yet critical to the development of Cambodian football. Japan, which will play host to the 2020 Olympic Games, is expanding its reach within Asia in an attempt to increase cultural exchange in the fields of art, education, language and sport with their fellow Asian neighbors.
 

Japan, already one of the biggest investors in Cambodia’s special economic zones, has nonetheless been longstanding partners in helping to develop the kingdom’s relatively nascent football scene. Boeung Ket Angkor forward Chan Vathanaka, the first player from his country to play professionally in Japan, arrived in Tokyo on Monday to fulfill a one-year loan deal at Japanese J3-League club Fujieda MYFC.
 

Vathanaka said: “I have a strong belief that the team Fujieda will be promoted to J-2 at the end of the season, and that is my main achievement while I am here playing in Japan.” The move to increase Japanese visibility abroad is seen as part of the J.League’s push to develop business across Asia, with Vathanaka a culmination of longstanding Japanese interest in Southeast Asian football. Japanese clubs have also recently entertained the talents of Singaporean and Thai players – most notably snapping up Thai national team star Chanathip Songkrasin on loan from Thai Premier League champions Muangthong United.

 

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