Successful soccer tour
Soccer

An Australian Combined Service Soccer Association (ACSSA) squad has toured Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia after accepting an invitation from former ambassador to Vietnam Mr Michael Mann in HMAS Perth (Commanding Officer Lou Rago) back in 1999.

At the time, HMAS Perth was transiting through the Mekong Delta to Ho Chi Minh City in the inaugural visit to Vietnam by an Australian warship.

A pure coincidence saw Mr Mann tell LEUT Paul Denneny that he had always wanted to see an ADF soccer team tour Vietnam, as it was the national sport of Vietnam and would be great for diplomatic relations to see Australian and Vietnamese Servicemen socialising through the medium of soccer.

LEUT Denneny was the current coach of the ADF soccer team (now president) and took a keen interest in this subject.

Unfortunately plans were then overtaken through the events of the time in East Timor and the tour fell through the cracks.

The tour was again postponed last year through the Vietnamese Defence Force team accepting an invitation to play in the International Defence Force competition in Italy.

The green light for the tour was given and extended to include Laos and Cambodia where the Australian Defence Force team played several military teams in each province.

The standard of competition was very high with several Vietnamese Army players representing its national team.

The majority of the Australian players were selected at the ADF national carnival in Canberra in 2000 and the remaining players were selected at a selection camp held in 2001.

Games held in Vientiane, Laos and Phnom Penh, Cambodia were televised nationally with crowds in excess of 20,000.

The Australian squad also conducted coaching clinics with local schools in Laos and assisted building a soccer field and volleyball court at a local orphanage in Cambodia.

ACSSA is extremely pleased to have Advanced Technology Systems Australia (ATSA) as one of its major sponsors and looks forward to a rewarding relationship between both organisations.

ATSA is responsible for the Mine Disposal Systems fitted to the Royal Australian Navy’s newest addition to the fleet, the Mine Hunter Coastal.

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