Substantial backers

Interesting developments afoot at Preah Khan Reach, who are basking in the limelight after their Hun Sen Cup success on Sunday. It's emerged that the club has found substantial backing for the coming season from one of the new Vietnamese banks to open up offices in Phnom Penh recently, the SHB Bank, aka Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank. PKR are historically backed by the Military Police, and presumably the close ties between the armed forces and Vietnam have helped to sweeten this new sponsorship deal. Financial details hinted at suggest PKR will get $100,000 per year and a prod to engage foreign players once again. In the meantime, PKR are off to Malaysia for their first round tie against Penang AUCMS in four days time, in their first-ever venture into the Malaysian FA Cup competition. The word is that Penang, who play in the third tier in Malaysia, are up shit creek without a paddle having been relegated again and with financial woes, so PKR may just be in with a shout of success. Over at high-spending Naga Corp, who also have substantial backers in the shape of Nagaworld Hotel and entertainment hub, their team were introduced to the media recently as a part of opening celebrations for the hotel's new NagaRock. I had to smile when I read the publicity blurb that said; "As an avid supporter of youth & sports development, Nagaworld believes in inspiring the youth of Cambodia to dream big and work relentlessly towards their goals." They obviously forgot that their squad is the oldest, by a country mile, in the C-League and they've just signed four more experienced campaigners after their release from Phnom Penh Crown.