Tes Sambath

"Sambath" redirects here. For the Cambodian journalist, see Reach Sambath. For the Cambodian Kun Khmer fighter and kickboxer, see Pich Sambath. For the Indian politician, see L. Sambath.

Tes Sambath (Khmer: ទេស សម្បត្តិ, Tés Sâmbâttĕ [teːh sɑmɓat]; 20 October 2000 – 20 April 2025) was a Cambodian professional footballer who played as a centre back or a defensive midfielder. He appeared 16 times for the Cambodia national team between 2021 and 2023.

Tes Sambath

Personal information
Date of birth	(2000-10-20)20 October 2000
Place of birth	Takéo, Cambodia
Date of death	20 April 2025(2025-04-20) (aged 24)
Place of death	Khan Dangkao, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Centre back, defensive midfielder
Youth career
2014–2018	Bati Academy
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018–2021	Boeung Ket
2021–2025	Visakha	52	(0)
International career
	Cambodia
2019–2022	Cambodia U22
2021–2023	Cambodia	16	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Sambath attended the Bati National Football Academy for four years, from 2014 to graduating in 2018, before becoming a professional player. He briefly played professionally in Bangladesh in 2019.^[1][2]

In May 2021, Sambath was called up to the Cambodia national team's 24-man squad for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification.^[3]

Death

Sambath died on 20 April 2025, after falling into a river while riding his motorbike in Khan Dangkao, Phnom Penh. He was 24 years old.^[4][5]

After his death the Visakha football club expressed their condolences at his passing and declared a period of mourning. Several other Cambodian teams and organizations also expressed their remorse at Sambath's death.^[2]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[6]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Cambodia	2021	9	0
	2022	6	0
	2023	1	0
Total		16	0