Phnom Penh (FN), Jun. 15 – Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen was proud to welcome and hold the FIFA World Cup Trophy for the first time, speaking at the welcoming event of FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour to Cambodia, held on Wednesday (Jun 15) at the Peace Palace.

The 6.1kilogram pure gold FIFA World Cup Trophy arrived in Cambodia for the first time on Wednesday (Jun 15) since its first establishment in 1974.

"On behalf of the Royal Government, I am very proud to hold this meaningful World Cup Trophy. Of course, this trophy is also a symbol for humanity around the world as it represents the billions of people and humanity who love football and the principle of fair play,” the premier underlined.

The premier continued that currently, football is the most popular sport in the world, having about 265 million men and women playing it and about 3.5 billion fans. Cambodia has about 2,000 professional football players, more than 3,000 nonprofessional players, and over 100,000 Cambodian football fans.

“The arrival of the FIFA World Cup Trophy in the kingdom is a testimony to the world and to the 3 billion football fans that the kingdom has peace and that Cambodian citizens have been living in harmony, better living standard and development in all sectors. Meanwhile, the World Cup Trophy tour took place in line with Cambodia’s preparation to host the 2023 SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games,” the premier added.

On behalf of the Royal Government, Samdech also thanked the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and Coca-Cola for having Cambodia in the list and lauded the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia and relevant ministries for successfully co-organizing the event.

On that occasion, premier Hun Sen was optimistic and wished the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour and the FIFA World Cup 2022 events run smoothly and successfully.
=FRESH NEWS