The 2007 WOVD Phnom Penh Volleyball World Cup games will be played in the stunning Olympic Stadium. Designed by renowned Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann it was completed in 1963 for the aborted SEA Games. After being used as a field hospital during the Lon Nol era between 1973-75, the Stadium was utilised as a grim execution spot by the Khmer Rouge. After the ousting of the KR regime in 1979, the Stadium lay largely derelict for many years before a Cambodia began to re-develop in the late 1980s.

The Olympic Stadium remains one of Phnom Penh’s architectural masterpieces and has recently undergone renovations to slowly return it to its former glory. In 2009, the Stadium is the centrepiece in the renaissance of Cambodian sport.

Capable of accommodating 80,000 spectators outside and 5000 at the indoor court, the innovative stadium remains a groundbreaking historical design and is a central part of the rapid regeneration of Phnom Penh.

The Olympic Stadium now plays a central role in Phnom Penh residents’ leisure activities and is packed at sunrise and sunset every day with thousands of Cambodians exercising.

The CNVLD first used the Olympic Stadium to host the 2005 WOVD Phnom Penh Asia Pacific Championships which were attended by Australia and Canada (as a guest nation) despite the upheavals caused by the Asian Tsunami.

Since the 2005 Championships, Standing Volleyball has become a popular annual feature at the Stadium. In 2006, the National Volleyball League Grand Finals were played in the Olympic Stadium; the first time in history a competitive national disability sports event had been hosted at the venue.

In 2007, the entire CNVLD National Volleyball League season was played in the Olympic Stadium for the first time signalling a new level of integration and professionalism for the nation’s athletes with a disability.

Following this breakthrough, the CNVLD hosted the 2007 WOVD Cambodia Standing Volleyball World Cup at the Olympic Stadium in November of the same year- the first ever World Cup sports event to be hosted in the nation. Cambodia Germany, Slovakia, Canada, Poland and India all came to Phnom Penh to compete for the prestigious title of World Champions. The Cambodian National Team won the hearts of the nation by narrowly losing by 2 points to Slovakia in the Semi-Finals to take Bronze. Germany eventually went on to win.

The 2008 National Volleyball League and the 2009 Cellcard National Volleyball League were played in their entirety at the Olympic Stadium. The 2009 Opening Ceremony and Grand Finals were broadcast live to air on CTN (Cambodian Television Network) – another historic first for Cambodian Disability Sport.

Opening the facility to host Disability Sports events has been a key success for the CNVLD and has served to raise public awareness of the sporting prowess of the Athletes with a Disability of Cambodia.