A UK documentary is raising awareness of football’s impact among the youth of the South East Asian country Laos, after acknowledging how their everyday life is still affected by cluster bombs and land mines left from the Vietnam War.

The film, ‘On Safer Ground’, follows a team of young players pursuing their dream of participating in the Gothia Cup, the largest international youth football tournament, in Sweden, and becoming the first Laos football team ever to play outside of Asia.

It documents the team’s struggles and achievements on and off pitch during the period.

On a factual level, the film reveals the legacy of the Vietnam War (1956-1975) and portraits the suffering that remains in the country to this day.

The documentary will be shown today (4 April) at the RichMix cinema, in London, in the frame of the UN International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action observed on 4 April each year.

The initiative is organised by the Swedish Embassy in London in cooperation with the filmmaker Gareth Carter and the INGO Cluster Munition Coalition.