AKP Phnom Penh, November 06, 2019 --

In 2024, ASEAN will apply to host the World Cup, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen said at the opening ceremony of the 12th ASEAN-China Prosecutors-General Conference in Siem Reap provincial city this morning.

This is an ASEAN’s identity, all member countries will come together to be a single place for the international football match, he stressed.

According to Samdech Techo Hun Sen, ASEAN can form a soccer team composed of a player or two from Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and other ASEAN member countries to play with other nations.

On Nov. 3, 2019, ASEAN and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of football, after the Plenary Session of the 35th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.

The MoU was inked by Secretary-General of ASEAN Mr. Dato Lim Jock Hoi and FIFA President Mr. Gianni Infantino in the presence of the ASEAN Heads of State/Government, including Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen.

According to the ASEAN Secretariat, the MoU marks the establishment of a formal cooperation between the two entities to leverage the roles of football in social development in ASEAN.

Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim said, “football – and sports in general, is indeed a strategic means for promoting greater people-to-people connectivity and binding ASEAN stronger as One Community. Through this MoU, ASEAN looks forward to a stronger football and sporting community in the region that builds on our unique regional identity and sense of community.”

The MoU will guide ASEAN and FIFA in finding synergies and placing football as a catalyst for social development, including through promotion of healthy lifestyles and values of sportspersonship in the ASEAN Community building process.

By Khan Sophirom