July 23, 2020
Two Cambodian teams to compete in AFC Cup starting 2021

Starting 2021, there will be two Cambodian teams that will compete in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.

The Cambodian National Competition Committee (CNCC) announced on Tuesday that the Kingdom has been given another slot in the continental football competition.

Previously, only the champions of the Cambodian League (currently known as the Metfone Cambodian League), in the Kingdom’s top football league were eligible to participate in the AFC Cup. Moreover, the Cambodian representatives had to go through a playoff before they could qualify for the group stage of the tournament.

But according to the CNCC announcement, the other slot for Cambodia will be for the champion of the HE Cup, the second-most prestigious football tournament organised by the Football Federation of Cambodia (FFC).

The winner of the HE Cup will have to go through a playoff before qualifying for the group stage, while the champions of the Cambodian League will now advance automatically to that stage.

In the HE Cup, which is named after Cambodia’s Prime Minister, teams in the Cambodian League compete with teams from the provinces.

In order to qualify, Cambodia’s representatives must meet the club licensing requirements and other criteria set by the AFC. If those conditions are not met, the slots will be available for teams ranked between second and sixth in the Cambodian League.

In the event that a single team wins both the Cambodian League and HE Cup at the same time, the runner-up in the Cambodian League will get the second slot.

Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng football club, the defending champions in the Cambodian League, are Cambodia’s representative in the AFC Cup this year.

PKR Svay Rieng FC advanced to the group stage after beating Master 7 FC of Laos in the playoffs. The group stage is currently suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak and is due to resume in September.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50747827/t ... ting-2021/

Cambodia Team Ready for AFC Cup 2021
AKP Phnom Penh, February 03, 2021 --

Cambodian football team “Boeung Ket” is ready for challenges with other teams in G pole for the upcoming AFC Cup 2021.

The affirmation was made recently by Mr. Kim Pheakdey, the coach of Boeung Ket Football Club, adding that the Cambodian team is in G pole with teams from Vietnam’s Hanoi FC, Bali United of Indonesia and another selected team.

He continued that so far, Boeung Ket team has been training hard as preparation for domestic tournaments like Cambodia Airways Cup 2021 to be held from Feb. 2 to 9, meaning they are quite ready.

To take place from June 22 to 28, AFC Cup 2021 will attract participation of Asian countries’ 39 clubs.

Beside the Boeung Ket team, the Visakha team will compete in play-off course for the AFC Cup award; and the Visakha team must win Lalenok United of Timor-Leste to continue to a course of pole dividing with Persipura Jayapura club of Indonesia.
- AKP
Article in Khmer by Heng Nalin
Article in English by Lim Nary