Cambodian League Cup announced
Despite getting information from the CPL being a bit like getting blood from a stone, it has finally been confirmed that the new Cambodian League Cup will take place.
The cup is due to happen during the 5 week break and while the national team take part in the SEA Games being held in Vietnam. The aim being to keep football fans happy, as well as ideally keep non-international players fit. Unlike the Hun Sen Cup it will only involve clubs from CPL 1 and CPL 2.
You can read about the Cambodian Premier League here.
What was the official statement?
“The Cambodian League Cup 2022 competition is designed to give all players of the first and second division more opportunity to demonstrate an extra level of ability in both league and training when both competition are take a break from the game after the national team travel to represent Cambodia in the Sea Game in Vietnam at the end of April.
And this Cambodian League Cup is also an official tournament under the Cambodian Premier League control.
The competition program starts from Saturday, April 30, 2022 to Saturday, May 28, 2022
The official draw will take place today at 4:30 pm at CPL company (Live on CPL facebook page)”
You can see the CPL Facebook page here
What do clubs think about the competition?
Thoughts about the competition have been mixed, with many coaches feeling it offers a great chance to blood some youngsters, while others have questioned the organizational side and indeed the levels of communication with the CPL.
Speaking to Khmer Nights Svay Rieng coach Conor Nestor said “We are happy to take part in the competition. It gives us more game time in between now and the league re-restarting. And some players who haven’t played will get a chance instead of our national team boys”
Alistair Heath of Angkor Tiger added “We are going to use this as a chance to rest players who have played consistently this season, while giving a chance to some of our younger players”.
Another manager who asked not to be named stated “Like everything with the CPL it is all very last minute and badly planned. We still do not have all the information we would expect at this time”.
On the lower end the spectrum clubs such as Next Step FC have complained about the financial implications of the comptetition. Despite there being four clubs in Siem Reap there has been no regionalisation within the groups, thus meaning increased expenditure for little financial reward.
According to an official statement from the club “We had requested to withdraw from the competition due to financial reasons, but this request was rejected and we have been threatened with sanctions far greater than the financial burden we are facing. The choice for us is to play with broken legs, or never play again”.
This seems a rather strange turn of events with there being 16 participating sides, rather than 20 as there is currently in the league.
We reached out to the CPL about why the 4 specific clubs were allowed to not compete, but did not receive a reply.
Cambodian League Cup 2022 – What do we know?
There will be four groups of four, meaning 16 rather than 20 clubs, as previously mentioned. Teams will then play each other once, with the top two teams in each group going on to the quarter-finals, semi-finals and then final.
Whether these will be two-legged, or single affairs is as of yet unknown.
Group A
- NagaWorld FC
- ISI
- Koh Kong FC
- Kiriving Sok Sen Chey FC
Group B
- Preach Khan Reach Svay Rieng
- Siem Reap FC
- Tiffy Army
- EDC FC
Group C
- Boeung Ket FC
- National Academy FC
- Phnom Penh Crown FC
- National Police FC
Group D
- Visakha FC
- Next Step FC
- Angkor Tiger FC
- Prey Veng FC
And of course the last proverbial elephant in the room! With many CPL 1 and CPL 2 games ending up with 6 and 7 goal victories, this tournament looks like it will provide a lot of goals rather than close competition..
Author: Leon Havana
A trained chef and sports aficionado with extensive experience across South America and Asia. Leon’s culinary creations celebrate local flavors, while his love for sports like football and boxing connects him with local communities.
