On The Ball in Siem Reap!

‘…there we go, there we go…!’

Sport is a great way to build confidence in marginalized young people. This  half-time report on the mixed fortunes of our Kaliyan Mith youth football teams in Siem Reap from our man on the touchline, Friends Social Work Technical Advisor James Farley, gives us the lowdown on progress to date…

‘As the Siem Reap 7-a-side football league 2013 organized by Globalteer reaches mid- season things are not looking too brilliant for the Kaliyan Mith teams.  However, with Kaliyan Mith’s 3 teams currently occupying the middle of the league table all is not lost. After a very weak start to the season (Kaliyan Mith teams lost 15 games in a row!) the Under 16 boys  and the Girls Team are now beginning to hit their stride and score a few goals.

The Globalteer league is made up of teams from various different NGOs in Siem Reap. Part of the difficulty for the Kaliyan Mith Teams is that Kaliyan Mith players do not all live together in an orphanage like many of the other teams. Our players are picked from all different  kinds of Kaliyan Mith services –  some from the community, some from the Transitional Home, some from the cooking training and some from the street.  So arranging practice sessions is difficult.

But the last 2 weeks have seen big improvements in all of the teams (the Under 14 boys won 2 out of 3 games last weekend) and their perseverance and determination will surely see them scoring plenty more goals in the second half of the season.’

Good luck to the Kaliyan Mith teams, and always remember (as a famous football commentator once wisely said) that football is a game of two halves!

The Boys Team

The Girls Team