Phnom Penh, 24 May 2017: Cellcard today signed a major new partnership with the Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC) to provide football academies to every province in the country by the middle of next year.

The signing comes as the first significant project under Cellcard’s new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Charter which is aimed at improving the daily lives of Cambodians through Education, Health and Housing initiatives.

Cellcard Chief Executive Officer Ian Watson said the football partnership was a great step forward in forming closer relationships with schools and communities, and will see his team working to help discover young talent.

“We’re really excited to be working on such a widespread and meaningful programme that provides numerous benefits to the communities involved,” Mr Watson said.

“Cellcard is committed to stronger engagement at commune level and to youth. This partnership will enable us to drive both objectives while giving young students a healthy social outlet.”

He said Cellcard shared the aspirations of the FFC to see Cambodian talent in the 2023 South East Asian Games.

“As the only Cambodian-owned telecom operator in the country, Cellcard is the right partner for such a programme that is centred on national pride at commune level.

“We are proudly Khmer and happy to help build interest and talent in the sport and hopefully see Cambodia as a nation outperform our neighbours in competitive tournaments such as the SEA Games.”

The FFC academies with be held in partnership with Cellcard across 25 provinces.