Ingenuity called for

The hastily-updated playing jersey for Khim Borey

Things never quite go as smoothly as you wish, do they. Phnom Penh Crown believed they'd submitted their playing list a while ago to the suits at the AFC, ahead of the AFC President's Cup final stage. Yesterday at training, it transpired that the AFC had Khim Borey listed as jersey number 27, instead of the number 7 that he always wears. Somewhere amongst the emails back and forth, something had got lost in translation. Despite pleading, the AFC refused to budge, so it was time for a bit of ingenuity on the part of the assistant coaches. With the sports shops closed and no jersey numbers available, white spray paint was purchased and a number template fashioned. Cue the spray paint artwork. You can see the result in the photo above. Not perfect by any means but it'll have to do in the circumstances. Just to compound the problem, the firm that affixed the numbers and names in Phnom Penh had spelt his name incorrectly as well, so he's now Khim Burey!
Dope tests are an important feature of key competitions like the AFC President's Cup. Forms have to be filled in for all teams, showing what medicines players are taking up to 72 hours before the game, any vitamins and so on. A failure to report this properly can land a club in hot water. Two players from each team will be selected to undergo doping tests immediately after each game, which means providing a urine sample. This can take a while as the players have sweated out most of the excess fluids in their bodies and it's been known for some players to wait two hours or more before they can provide the sample. Detailed forms also have to be completed for all injuries and illnesses picked up in training and competition. Peng Bunchhay and Sok Sovan reported feeling a bit feverish last night but were fine today at breakfast. So Crown have a clean bill of health going into this afternoon's match.