Lao football federation searching for players in preparation for 25th SEA GAMES
Although Laos ranks low in the regional and world football standings, the Lao Football Federation believes it can raise the Lao team to a higher ranking.
Currently, Laos is ranked 37 out of 46 Asian nations and is placed 178 out of 201 countries listed in the FIFA world rankings. Argentina tops the FIFA list, with Brazil in second place and France third.
At the official opening ceremony of the country's top league, the Lao League, last Saturday, the federation explained that it has two leagues: the first division League 1 is the training ground for national players, while League 2 develops new players who will progress to League 1 in each season of competition.
The federation is hoping that a galaxy of rising stars will appear this season for inclusion in the under-23 national team, which will compete in next year's SEA Games, to be held in Vientiane .
The official opening ceremony for both leagues was rather late this year, as several games had already taken place in the previous two weeks.
The official opening day of the season saw two matches, with defending champions Lao-American College making short work of this season's favourites the Ministry of Public Works and Transport in a 3-0 scoreline. In another game, the Army held the Bank FC to a 1-1 draw.
This season's fixtures comprise 10 teams: Lao-American College FC, Vientiane FC, Ministry of P ublic Works and Transport, Bank FC, Ezra FC, National University of Laos, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Information and Culture, Moon the Night FC, and Army FC.
Source: Vientianetimes
