image

Jobs4Football meets Chris Grant

Jobs4Football had the pleasure to speak with Christopher Grant, General Manager at Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng Football Club. Chris is living proof of determination in football; by continuing to develop his career in Cambodia as well as Scotland. Chris is a highly professional individual who has evolved into a managerial role at his current club, he has climbed the ranks through coaching and now looks ahead to the next challenge he can conquer.

Chris started his journey in college and went headfirst into his HND in Sports Coaching with Sports Development, before progressing on the pitch. “After finishing college, I went straight into full time coaching by working as an academy coach and completing my Scottish FA Coaching Licences. I continued to develop myself in Scotland by setting up my own football coaching business called ‘Elite Soccer Coaching’ an organisation I had set up that worked in conjunction with Edinburgh City Council, which allowed me to help younger footballers in schools as well as in the academies.”

Chris’ father moved to Cambodia in 2005; Chris visited once a year to see him and experience the Cambodian culture whilst curating his coaching business back in Scotland. Chris realised the opportunities football could implement on the Cambodian people and after consideration he decided to see if he could replicate what he built in Scotland, in Cambodia; he proceeded to move in 2013. However, culturally Southeast Asia isn’t known for its footballing history thus leaving Chris in a conundrum. “It’s certainly different, football is very much ingrained into society in the UK where in Cambodia not yet; it has only been in the last 6/7 years that football has really grown in popularity and cemented itself as the number 1 sport in Cambodia.” Chris has journeyed through Cambodia with football on his back, increasing the popularity through his Elite Soccer Coaching programme as well as his involvement on the Cambodian National Competitions Committee, a body under the Cambodian FA, that organised the professional league and cup competitions.

Grant has over a decade of experience in coaching, and it has certainly helped him gain his role of General Manager at Svay Rieng. I was eager to hear how Chris was able to go from coaching to managing and if he found the transition marginal or monumental. “I was working with Phnom Penh Crown FC for 18 months performing some opposition analysis for their senior team and assisting with their academy. After my time there I went back to my coaching company working with the grassroots team and school programmes, then I was contacted by the CEO of Svay Rieng to help redevelop their academy.” Chris was enlisted to help find a foreign coach for the senior team and was successful in bringing in Conor Nestor in January 2018. 

It was only natural for Chris to step up to the General Manager role because during his time at the helm, Chris has taken the club to undiscovered heights, expanding their online presence to 200,000 followers, increasing jersey sales by 500% in 3 years and even helping plan and develop the clubs first training ground, which opened in 2021, the first professional football club in Cambodia to do so. Currently top of the league, Chris is living proof of building a legacy through football and manufacturing his repertoire from the ground up in Cambodia as well as internationally. Chris has recently completed his Postgraduate Diploma in Football Business with the Johan Cruyff institute which has helped him gain more knowledge in his managerial role. 

What sets Chris apart from other managers is his ability to learn and progress with the club he is with. He is honest and is set on making the right decisions for his football club. Chris explained to me why it is important for him to keep moving forward. “I am still learning on the job by soaking up knowledge and experience from people in football worldwide. My degree has been extremely valuable for the role I am in because it covers all the non-football operations. I don’t think I do anything vastly different to other managers, I just make sure that we are analysing the right decisions in the club, and that everyone is happy with the outcome.”

It has been 9 years since Chris moved to Cambodia and he hasn’t looked back since. Chris feels “very lucky” to have worked with two professional clubs as well as the Cambodian Football Federation. “I am very much interested in pursuing a greater role in the managerial field. I have a great thing going here in Cambodia, we have a great club here and we are looking to further expand where we can.” Chris has been the talisman for football in Cambodia and has helped Svay Rieng write their name in the history books.

Uploading
Select your currency
GBP Pound sterling
EUR Euro
P