Known as the Khmer Republic from 1970-75, the Cambodia national football team was founded as early as 1933. Affiliation to FIFA took some time, only coming in 1953.
The Kingdom of Cambodia is a good-sized country in South East Asia. It is one of the most populous countries in the world with over 14 million residents. Decades of civil war destroyed much of the country but things have improved since the millennium. Strong economic growth coupled with the discovery of sea oil have made Cambodia an emerging power in Asia.
Football is one the of most popular sports in Cambodia. Introduced by the French, the game soon took off despite poor economic conditions. Though the civil war stunted development, the game remains loved all over the country.
Cambodia are one of the worst teams in international football. In 2006 they decided against trying to qualify for the world cup.The only notable success in the history books came when the team played as the Khmer Republic. That team managed a fourth place finish in the 1972 Asian Cup.
Cambodia have been entering world cup qualifying since 1998 (apart from the 2006 competition) but have never qualified.