A day of knockout action at the Old Stadium on Sunday involving 62 boys and girls teams from in and around Phnom Penh served as a curtain raiser for the Barclays-ISF Youth Football League, stretching right up to April next year.

The competition was confined to teams in the U10, U14 and U18 categories represented during the regular league season.

This ISF grassroots league for disadvantaged youth has been going on since 2007. From a humble beginning of 50 players, the league has grown big enough to offer more than 1,000 youngsters an opportunity to improve their football and life skills.

“It is fantastic to see 10 new teams join the league this year,” ISF country manager Chourp Vicheka told the Post. Sunday’s winning teams included Pun Phom School (Boys U10), ASPECA (Boys U14 Premium), Po Monkol School (Boys U14 Champion), ISF SMC (Girls U14) and Sunrise (Boys U18).