Vietnam to host AFC U19 Women’s Champs qualifiers

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) is busy preparing for the second qualifying round of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U19 Women’s Championships, to take place in Ho Chi Minh City from December 1-9.

The six teams who pass the first qualifying round will compete in the event, along with Vietnam and Thailand, who ranked sixth and seventh in the previous tournament.

The eight teams are divided into two groups and will play in a round robin format to select the best two from each group for play-off matches.

The winners will compete against Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Australia in the final round of the championships, scheduled for October 1-13.

The hosts’ U19 women’s team have gathered for a training session in the central province of Thanh Hoa.

Vietnam well-prepared for ASIAD hosting

Vietnam’s infrastructure is of a satisfactory standard to successfully host the 18th Asian Games (ASIAD) in 2019.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan affirmed that at a reception in Hanoi on October 25 for the Vice-President of the Olympic Council of Asia, Wei Jizhong.

The reception for Jizhong was part of his fact-finding tour of Vietnam, running from October 23-26.

Nhan thanked Wei’s support for Vietnam’s organising the Asian Indoor Games 2009 and the upcoming Asian Beach Games 2016 to be held in Nha Trang.

He emphasised that Vietnam is implementing a ten-year development strategy with the aim of becoming a modern industrialised nation by 2020. In addition to socio-economic areas, the country has paid great attention to sports development and has gained significant achievements at both regional and international competitions.

Wei acknowledged that during his fact-finding tour he has concluded that Vietnam is well prepared to host the 18th ASIAD, with infrastructure and facilities meeting requirements.

U19 team to play friendly match

The national U19 team would play two friendlies during their upcoming 10-day training camp at the Aspire Institute in Qatar, coach Mai Duc Chung has announced.

On Sunday, they will meet Qatar at Khalifa Stadium, and next Tuesday, they will meet the Aspire Institute team.

According to Chung, the next matches would bring a wealth of experience to the national team before attending the Asia U19 Championships 2012 in the United Arab Emirates from November 3-17.

Binh Duong to host 13th BTV Cup

Eight domestic and international football teams will compete for the 13th BTV Cup in Go Dau stadium in the southern province of Binh Duong from November 16-25.

They are divided into two groups with the Vietnam’s U23 National Squad and Becamex Binh Duong, Thailand’s Chonburi F.C and Uganda’s Express F.C in Group A and SHB Danang and Saigon Xuan Thanh from Vietnam, Gremio from Brazil and Fukuoka from Japan in Group B.

The BTV Cup is one of the FIFA and Asia Football Confederation (AFC)’s annual events.

Ha Noi on top at Springborad Champs

Ha Noi triumphed at the National Springboard Championships at the Aquatic Sports Palace in the My Dinh National Sports Complex in the capital.

The hosts took seven golds, three silvers and two bronzes, with Vu Anh Duy winning three individual and two team golds.

HCM City finished second with two golds, five silvers and six bronzes, followed by Hai Phong in third with one silver and one bronze medal.

The four-day event drew 30 of the country's top divers who competed for 10 sets of medals in the singles and doubles hard and soft springboard events for both men and women.

VN trounced by super Italy in futsal

Italy crushed Viet Nam 9-0 yesterday in a futsal match at the HCM City international friendly futsal tournament at Tan Binh Gymnasium, HCM City.

With total superiority in skill and strength, Italian players achieved complete domination. They scored four goals in the first half and five in the second half.

The win also placed Italy on top of the four-team competition by three points and nine goals.

Kuwait placed second after a hard-won victory over Uzbekistan in the previous match of the day.

Kuwait beat Uzbekistan 4-2 on a penalty shootout after the teams drew 3-3 in the regular time.

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