As a girl who was sent to live in an orphanage as a child, Ban Cheavey was not as fortunate as other children who live under the care of their parents or relatives. Even today, she still doesn’t know who her parents are or how many relatives she has.

Nevertheless, Cheavey overcame countless hardships and sorrows in order to free herself from the darkness that began her life as she grew up in an orphanage called Meatuphumi Centre, located in Rattanak village and commune in Battambang town.

Unlike the other girls at the orphanage, Cheavey has embraced the sport of football since the age of 12 when she was in seventh grade, and the shortage of female footballers forced her to train and play football with men’s teams at the centre and in the province.

“I was never as warm as other children, but I have not been discouraged and I pushed myself to be better. I have tried to learn and play football as the organisation helped me get an education and graduate from the 12th grade,” she said.

Mighty Girls is the name of the girls’ football team at the orphanage that Cheavey eventually starred on. The team represented Battambang at various tournaments in Cambodia.

However, over the years the team members of the Mighty Girls have gradually been replaced by new players. But Cheavey has never given up and has embraced the sport as central to her life.

She has also used her knowledge and skills to help train the next generation at the orphanage, which has helped her gain experience with competing and coaching skills.

“If there was no football, my life would not have been what it is like today. Among the kids in the centre it was only me who continued to play football while the others stopped playing and went to work in Thailand or in the country, but the encouragement of the teachers and coaches made me change my life through hard work,” said Cheavey.

After graduating from the 12th grade, she decided to leave the orphanage in Battambang province and travel to Phnom Penh alone. Cheavey did not know anyone and did not know exactly what she would do in the capital, but having football skills, both playing and coaching players, helped her get a job at Phnom Penh Crown, one of the biggest football clubs in Cambodia, back in 2017.

Cheavey was given the opportunity to play with the Phnom Penh Crown girls’ team and to train the kids at the Smart RSN-based club with a monthly salary of $120 for her coaching services. But with the small wages, it was just enough for monthly expenses like rent and food.

However, Cheavey was still able to save money to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in physical therapy at the University of Health Sciences. After two years at the school, Cheavey found another role at Phnom Penh Crown Club as a physiotherapist for women athletes along with the money from coaching.

“I get a monthly salary from my coaching for Phnom Penh Crown, and in my second year at the university I began work as a physiotherapist to take care of young players and so I am paid more money from the club. So far, my life has been better because I have a job and I can live on my own. I’m not as miserable as when I first arrived in Phnom Penh, I have enough money and I can save it to pay college tuition and I will finish my physical therapy degree from the university,” said Cheavey.

Cheavey intends to play for the national team this year at the upcoming 32nd SEA Games before starting her career as a full-time physiotherapist.

As a player on the field, Cheavey is definitely one of the best female footballers on the Phnom Penh Crown women’s team and in Cambodia.

In her first season with Phnom Penh Crown, she helped the team finish third place in the 2019 Women’s League and then they went on to win the runner-up title in 2020 and the Women’s League championship in 2021.

Cheavey was a key player in helping the Phnom Penh Crown women’s team win the Women’s League for the first time and that season she won the Golden Boot award as the top scorer in the league with 32 goals.

With this level of performance, she was called up to join the Cambodia women’s national football team for the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam in May 2022, but the first appearance of the Cambodian women’s team at the SEA Games was disappointing for them as they finished their journey in the group stage after losing 5-0 to the Philippines and 7-0 to hosts Vietnam.

After the tough result at the SEA Games in Vietnam, the Cambodia women’s team competed in the AFF Women’s Championship 2022 in the Philippines. At the tournament, held from July 4-17, the Cambodian women’s team drew 1-1 with Laos before losing 3-0 to Vietnam, 3-0 to Myanmar and 3-1 to Timor-Leste, finishing third in Group B. Still, the scores were closer than before and even if they weren’t where they hoped to be, the team did show progress.

After playing these two international competitions, Cheavey was selected as a candidate for training in China on September 15, 2022, with 20 other team members to prepare for the SEA Games in Cambodia this May.

Unfortunately, she had to turn down the opportunity because she did not want to give up her job at Phnom Penh Crown again and did not want to miss her classes at the University of Health Sciences.

“I feel regret for deciding not to go and get trained in China, but we have only one choice. I have been preparing to go to China for training since 2021, but the Covid-19 crisis has repeatedly postponed this plan until I can no longer go because I cannot give up my job and the plan of pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in physical therapy at the university.”

However, she still wants to play for the national team for the home event in May 2023, so she decided to train with the Phnom Penh Crown U18 team at the end of 2022. She is currently playing for the Phnom Penh Crown women’s football team in the 2023 League in order to maintain her level of fitness to qualify for the national team again.

“I have committed to training with the men’s team to maintain my strength and technique so that I can have a chance to be called up for the national team again. I have confidence in my technical ability and the idea of helping my team is already there, but if we do not train, our strength may decline. So my every effort so far is that I want to play for the national team at the 2023 SEA Games and I am still 60 per cent confident that I will get this opportunity,” Cheavey said.

The Golden Boot winner revealed that she may finish her career as a player after the 2023 Games, but she will continue to be involved with football to achieve what she has worked hard for since childhood in this field.

“I want to help the Cambodia women’s national team at the 2023 SEA Games and after my career as a footballer, if I have the chance, I want to be the physiotherapist for the national team in the future. I will not give up football, I will stay with it! I chose this skill, which is a part of my life. Seventy per cent of my life comes from football,” said the 26-year-old player.