Cambodian footballing legend Pen Phath will once again bring a team of foreign-based players to play friendlies here. Photograph: Sreng Meng Srun/Phnom Penh Post

Local football fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Khmer Europe XI, a team comprising players of Cambodian heritage based abroad. Former national team star striker Pen Phath, now living in Paris, brings over an elite touring side for the second time after leading a Cambodian-French squad that played friendlies here in November 2010.

Of the 22 players signed up for the tour, 12 come from France, seven from Belgium, two from the Netherlands and one from Australia.

A day before their arrival in Phnom Penh next Wednesday, the team will face Thai Premier League club Samut Songkhram in Thailand.

The Football Federation of Cambodia are hosting the side’s nine-day stay in the capital, which will include playing two games at Olympic Stadium against reigning Hun Sen Cup champions Preah Khan Reach on September 11 and the national team on September 13.

Pen Phath claims this year’s tour should not be equated with the procession of friendly fixtures arranged two years ago.

“We want to show our quality because we have collected Cambodians from many different nations. The players wish to prove they have the capacity to be considered for national team selection,” the 64-year-old coach told the Post.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ung Chamroeun at [email protected]