A coach from the Republic of Korea will train the national Lao women's football team this month as part of the preparations for the 25th SEA Games to be held in Vientiane in December.
The team is currently training at the Sports Training Centre at Huayhong village in Chanthabouly district under the instruction of Mr Viengsavan Sengchan.
The team is ranked fifth in South East Asia, 15th in Asia and 74th in the world.
The Korean coach will arrive in Vientiane next week and is the first Korean to guide the team.
Thailand , Vietnam and Myanmar are expected to provide strong competition for the team at the upcoming games.
The women's team was unable to win a medal at the Asian Football Confederation in Vietnam last year, where they were coached by Mr Volker Hofferbert from Germany .
Mr Hofferbert believes the team is capable of reaching the semi-finals of the games as many of the players have SEA Games experience.
He said the national team trained hard but lacked experience at the international level. At the last games only six countries competed in the women's football event but this year more will do so, making it tougher for the team to claim a medal in front of their home fans.
Mr Hofferbert is currently training the national under-16 female football team in the run-up to the Asean Football Federation Championships in Myanmar in October.
Nine countries will compete in the championships and the Lao team will face Cambodia in a friendly match at the Huayhong village football stadium next week.
Mr Hofferbert said both teams only came into existence this year and it will be a close match.
The Cambodian team is sponsored by several non-government organisations, while the Lao team is still searching for more sponsors.
Mr Hofferbert said the players in the under-16 team are future prospects for the senior team at the 26th SEA Games.
The players in the junior squad come from Vientiane and Xayaboury province.
By Sangkhomsay Bubphanouvong
Vientianetimes
