The Masan Consumer Holdings (MCH) has become the main sponsor of the 2018 Vietnam National Football Cup, which features 24 teams in the 2018 V.League 1 and 2, announced the Vietnam Professional Football company (VPF).

Song Lam Nghe An FC tops the Vietnam National Football Cup last year.

At a ceremony held in Hanoi on April 20, VPF also revealed that Nguyen Quang Hai, a member of the Vietnamese team competing at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship in China in January, is the official representative of the football cup.

The tournament will be named the Vietnam National Football Cup – White Lion 2018 and is scheduled to run until October 14.

The teams will compete in knockout format in the qualifying round and round of 16, and in two-legged tie starting from the quarter-final.

The cooperation of the VPF and MCH is hoped to foster Vietnam’s sport sector and football development in particular, VPF Chairman and General Director Tran Anh Tu said.

The champion will walk home with a prize worth 1 billion VND (43,900 USD), while the runner-up receives half of that amount. In addition, the two teams will be Vietnam’s representatives at the Asian Football Confederation Cup.-VNA