New Academy arrivals

Proud parents, guardians and youngsters line up at Crown's Academy HQ this afternoon

Phnom Penh Crown's brand new Elite Football Academy became a reality on Sunday as the majority of the 22 young boys selected to be part of the first-ever residential football academy in Cambodia arrived at their new Tuol Kork home. With some of the boys accompanied by proud parents and others by their local football coaches that took on the role of guardians, they arrived from provinces all over the country to see their new living quarters at Crown's training ground in Tuol Kork for the first-time. The boys and their guardians then sat down with Crown's management team to run through how the Academy would work and to answer any questions and allay any fears the guardians might have.
The head coach of the Academy, Bouy Dary explained that the education of the boys was just as important as the football element of their two years in residence, and that this was the first opportunity in Cambodia for young boys to follow their dream of becoming a professional footballer. The facilities at Tuol Kork include not only the best playing surface in the country, but also their living dormitories, rooms in which to study, eat and relax, a medical center, kitchen and rooms where the boy's two house mothers will live. There is also a separate toilet and shower block.
The boys and their guardians then posed for some photographs before gathering at a nearby restaurant for a meal with the Crown staff. Sunday night was their first in their new accommodation and Monday morning will begin the start of their lives as the first members of Crown's Elite Football Academy.

More excited youngsters and their guardians pose for a team photograph

Their first meal together overseen by the Academy head coach Bouy Dary