My dream: THE FIRST TO REPRESENT NEW ZEALAND

Ever since I was 10 years old, I dreamed of doing something special with a football.

When I started I couldn’t even kick a ball. I wasn’t talented, fit, or even good. But I fell in love with the game. And from the start I was obsessed. (Especially this side of the sport, which I would later find out was called Panna, also known as 1v1 street football.)

What started off as fascination, later became an obsession. Then my purpose.

Every day I would watch Jack Downer's training videos and podcasts; he was a professional athlete, content creator and motivational figure, his videos inspired a lot of kids to start dreaming of becoming Street Footballer's, including me. At first I wanted the skills, of this world champion. But eventually, I wanted something deeper his mentality, resilience, and refusal to never give up. That’s the kind of person I wanted to become. Someone who could inspire hope in others through his character, not just football ability.

One day I reached out to him, he made me believe I wasn’t crazy for chasing this dream and even inspired me to further pursue Panna, even guiding me and becoming like a mentor figure in this journey!

Behind the scenes though, life was difficult.

I struggled with depressive episodes, overwhelming stress, pressure, and struggles most people never saw. At different points in my life, I gained over 30kg twice trying to deal with everything.

There were moments where I genuinely thought I might never play football properly again and ever regain my spark.

But even when I was overweight, I wanted to play.
Even when I was depressed, I wanted to play.
Even during the hardest moments of my life I still watched street football, dreamed about it, trained for it, and imagined what I could one day do for the sport.

From hospital beds, to eating lunch alone at school, to training alone in the rain and dark.

This sport gave me purpose when I felt lost.

It pushed me to become a better athlete, a better man, and a better role model for others. I found out who I am, or at least who I wanted to be, because of the sport.

At first, I never even thought about competing professionally. I simply loved playing, and just enjoyed having fun and expressing myself. My goals were never about titles, but about building a street football community in New Zealand that gave people what I never had growing up a community, giving chances to connect with others. But while applying for a scholarship connected to my Panna aspirations, Jack Downer encouraged me to chase what once felt impossible: representing New Zealand internationally on the world stage.

Since then, I’ve dedicated my life to the sport and to giving back to the community around it.

• Helped lead New Zealand internationally in 3v3 street football whilst competing
• Received 2x scholarships connected to my Panna journey
• Become the Street Football Coordinator for Mainland Football, the regional governing body of football for majority of the South Island
• Helped build the first panna arenas in collaboration with Christchurch United,
• Run over 50 free youth street football sessions
• Helped organise two 3v3 Street Football Youth Cup events with over 100+ people attending!
• Built a growing online audience by documenting my progress and sharing my journey, amassing nearly half a million views across platforms.

This is bigger than a tournament to me.

It represents every hard moment, every lonely training session, every setback I had to overcome, and every person, too many to count who believed in me when I struggled to believe in myself and helped me when I needed it.

Most importantly, it represents possibility.

The possibility that a kid born in small place like New Zealand from Cambodia who wasn’t naturally gifted, confident, or successful can still chase something extraordinary through passion, persistence, and love for the game.

If you’d like to support my journey to the Panna World Championships, your donation will help cover flights, accommodation, tournament expenses, and everything needed to represent New Zealand on the world stage.

And if you can’t donate, simply sharing this story means the world to me.

Thank you for believing in the dream.

Because at the end of the day:

You make your own story :)

HOW YOUR SUPPORT HELPS

Your donation will help cover:

• Flights and travel expenses
• Accommodation
• Tournament costs
• Training and preparation
• Content creation and documenting the journey
• Growing street football opportunities in New Zealand

THE BIGGER VISION

This isn’t just about attending one tournament.

This is about helping put NZ on the map for street football.

It’s about showing people that no matter where you start, your dreams can become reality with hard work, persistence, and self-belief. I want to inspire others to rise above hard times and to chase something bigger for themselves.

This is also about creating something I never had growing up: a real street football community.
A place where people can play, express, themselves, grow, connect with others, and create memories that they'll never forget.

I want to help grow the sport in New Zealand, creating opportunities for other athletes. Facilitating more places to play, more chances to compete, more ways of enjoying the game and giving exposure to the sport and athletes.

My goal is that within the next 5 years, every kid and teenager in New Zealand knows what Panna and street football is. 

Together we can make change and really make an impact with Street Football and Panna. change starts with one person but with your help we can do it together building a community, spreading the culture and loving the game.