The final round of the tournament was officially kicked off by the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) on July 20 at the PVF Youth Football Training Center in Hung Yen province.
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Nguyen Minh Chau, VFF Deputy General Secretary and Head of the Organizing Committee, delivers the opening speech. |
Twelve outstanding teams that advanced through the qualification rounds are competing in the finals. They are divided into three groups, including Group A (PVF, Hanoi, SHB Da Nang, Tay Ninh), Group B (Dong Thap, Binh Phuoc, The Cong Viettel, Kon Tum), and Group C (Song Lam Nghe An, Dak Lak, Hong Linh Ha Tinh, An Giang).
Speaking to the press, Nguyen Minh Chau, VFF Deputy General Secretary and Head of the Organizing Committee of the National U15 Football Championship, emphasized that organizing youth tournaments plays a vital role in the development of Vietnam’s football, both at the national and club levels. He stressed that competitions like the National U15 Football Championship offer players the opportunity to enhance their skills. They must showcase their courage, ambition, and football intelligence to earn their place in the future Vietnamese football’s youth squads. Younger players can look up to these matches as a model for their own development.
He also noted that the VFF pays special attention to scouting during the tournament. The VFF have invited Ikeuchi Yutaka, a Japanese expert, to join the youth development team. Yutaka, along with other VFF youth experts, is present at PVF to assess the players. The VFF continues to coordinate closely with clubs and coaches to select and evaluate young talents in the most effective and accurate manner, Chau added.
According to the tournament format, teams compete in a single round-robin format to determine rankings. The top three teams in each group, three runners-up, and the two best-performing third-place teams will advance to the quarterfinals. From the quarterfinals onward, matches are played in a knockout format. If a match ends in a draw after 90 minutes of play, it will be decided by a penalty shootout.
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U15 The Cong Viettel FC’s players celebrate their victory over U15 Kon Tum FC. |
The champion of this year’s tournament will receive a cash prize of VND 100 million, the runner-up will get VND 80 million, and the two third-place teams will receive VND 50 million each. Additional awards include Fair Play Award (worth VND 30 million), Top Scorer (worth VND 10 million), Best Player (worth VND 10 million), Best Goalkeeper (worth VND 10 million), and Best Refereeing Team (worth VND 10 million).
Aside from U15 The Cong Viettel FC’s victory against U15 Kon Tum FC, U15 Dong Thap FC beat U15 Binh Phuoc FC 3-1.
The tournament is scheduled to conclude on August 1.
Translated by Trung Thanh