1st-ever sports magazine

The front cover of 855 Sports Magazine

The first edition of the brand new, first-ever Cambodian magazine dedicated solely to sport is out on the streets of Phnom Penh, and available from many of the roadside newspaper vendors you see around the city. In fact the second, expanded edition is due out on 25 Nov. With a 5,000 print run of the first edition, the team behind 855 Sports Magazine are keen to make an impression on the sports-loving Cambodian public - the magazine is in the Khmer language - and with its glossy look, middle-page poster pull-out and wide coverage of different sports, they have made a grand entrance into the magazine market. The football-playing prime minister makes the front cover and football gets the lion's share of coverage inside the mag with 20 out of the 48 pages. There's a focus on Phnom Penh Crown, the Cambodian national team and on the Crown Academy, including a feature on one of it's young stars, Vat Samnang. The SEA Games, golf, tennis, boxing and motor sports are also covered, though the text is a little sparse in places as the magazine is pretty rich in photographs. The cover price is 5,000 riels though I believe it may drop to 4,000 for the second edition. This is a first for Cambodian sports fans, their own dedicated magazine published every two weeks covering both local and international sports stories. Now it's up to the magazine team to strive to improve their content and for the public to support them by buying the magazine on a regular basis.

A feature on Vat Samnang, from the Crown Academy