Aussie Rules Footy in Cambodia

After beginning as a social club for Australians in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian Eagles has grown into something much more - beyond footy and fitness, the club is family for up to 100 young Cambodians and the handful of Aussies still fit enough to keep running around with them.

But with our ethos is to provide Cambodians with free access to organized sport, our popularity is becoming a problem.

Back in the day, the Australian members could easily cover the costs of a handful of locals to train with the club and travel to neighboring countries for matches. Now, though, our men's team is about 70% Cambodian nationals and our women's squad boasts just one Australian.

And as most of our members come from extremely underprivileged backgrounds, having grown up as scavengers living around the notorious Phnom Penh rubbish dump, we need sponsors to keep them playing footy.

We also need a new financial model, we realise that. And we are working on it. But in the meantime we need assistance to get us through the year and to the Asian Championships in Thailand in October.

Any donations will be used to pay for:
- Boots
- Training field fees
- Bus costs
- Passports for undocumented players
- Player insurance
- Petrol for players to travel to training

If you're in Cambodia and would like to donate directly through ABA bank, our account number is 005333034 (name: Duncan Smith).

Come fly with us!

OUR STORY:

The Cambodian Eagles Football Club was initially a bunch of Australians getting together to kick the footy, drink beer and sometimes travel to play against other Australian expats who'd set up their own Aussie Rules outposts around Asia.

Back in 2012, a handful of skinny Cambodian kids who had grown up at the rubbish dump began to train with us on a patch of grass that we shared with cows at the Navy base. We were one of the first countries to get locals involved in Aussie Rules.

Fast forward twelve years and our 'expat' footy team is an almost entirely Cambodian operation. Those 'skinny kids' are at the heart of the squad and inspire a generation of children who grew up as scavengers to follow their lead.

We have a women's team, too - quite possibly the coolest thing you'll ever see on a footy field: a 'mosquito squad' of pint-sized demons that cast aside cultural norms and made a name for themselves smashing giants. Everywhere we go, they are the stars of the show.

And they're not just a gimmick. The Apsaras, as they are known, made the final of the 2024 Asian Championships, throwing down with Australian and Irish women with years' experience playing contact sport.

We are a volunteer-run club that functions like a charity. One of our primary objectives is to make organised sport accessible (free) to all Cambodians - something that is quite rare here, particularly in the rougher parts of town where most of our players come from. The footy club provides a pathway out of that world. The Asia Cup shapes as the trip of a lifetime.

Check us out at https://www.facebook.com/cambodianeaglesafl or get in touch at cambodianeaglesfc@gmail.com

Here's links to some news stories about our club.

Our Broken Asia Cup Hero (2024): https://aflasia.com/never-ever-quits-cambodias-heart-and-soul-set-for-knee-surgery/

AFL Takes Flight in Cambodia (2013): https://shorturl.at/eM7AJ

Most Dangerous Woman in Asia (2024): https://shorturl.at/sAoxh

Veasna Leak, Tough as Teak (2024): https://aflasia.com/cambodias-veasna-leak-tough-as-teak/

We're Going to Asia Cup! (2024): https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501585438/cambodian-teams-to-compete-in-australian-football-league-asia-cup/#google_vignette