A new baseball field in Kampong Speu’s Srang commune will be officially opened today with a 9am ceremony attended by the South Korean Ambassador to Cambodia and officials from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia. Two games will follow the ceremony, with the Cambodian National team facing local side Phnom Penh Blue Waves, and little league teams from Kampong Thom and Kampong Chhnang playing each other.

The field is to be named after Korean baseball legend Heo Koo-Youn, who donated a large sum of money for its construction. Now a TV commentator and influential member of the Korea Baseball Organisation, Heo was a former player on the South Korean national team and managed a professional Korean team.

The Cambodian Baseball Federation meanwhile is desperately trying to raise funds to relaunch activities in the Kingdom, with financial difficulties meaning the national team league was disbanded last August. The federation now aims to start a little league, while looking for a venue and funding for a five-day national championship tournament at the end of next month.