Foreign imports

Two of Phnom Penh Crown's best foreign imports last season, Akeeb TJ Ayoyinka (left) who is now with Loei City, and Oscar Mpoko who is still on the roster this season

I was wondering what happened to some of the foreign imports in the Cambodian football league last season and looked down the list to see which ones caught my eye in the last campaign and who are now missing from the team rosters. Clubs are allowed to sign five foreigners and play 3 in each game. Most of the foreigners we see in the Cambodia game come from African countries like Nigeria and Cameroon. The stand-out foreigner last season was Uche Prince Justine, who top scored in the league with the less-fancied team Spark FC and who has moved onto the most-monied team in the league, Phnom Penh Crown this time around. He's already leading the scoring charts again with 5 goals in 2 games and injury notwithstanding, will be right up there again this term. That's if he's not spirited away to join a Thai team or suchlike. I'm not convinced that staying in the C-League will be the best option for the teenager's future development. Talking of Phnom Penh Crown, their bustling forward Akeeb TJ Ayoyinka is now with Loei City, in the 2nd Division of the Thai League but I've no idea where his fellow strike partner from Cameroon, Mohamadou Ousmanou has gone. Preah Khan Reach recently sacked their top scorer last sesason, Nigerian striker Olisa Onyemerea, whilst Ekene Ikenwa also went walkabout in the close season. Hopping over the border to Thai Premier team TTM Samut Sakhon for the new season is Nigerian striker Sunday Okonkwo, who did a lot of damage with 17 goals for Naga Corp as they won the league title last year. Word is that Khemara's livewire midfield maestro David Adeyinka returned to Nigeria to get married and settle down. So far the new batch of foreign imports have failed to impress, though a few of them have yet to appear due to visa complications. It seems that the likes of Prince Justine, Joseph Oyewole, Sani Saidu, Friday Nwakuna and Oscar Mpoko will be the ones to shine again this season.