Vietnam soccer ready for international tournaments

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) is to rally U23 football squad on May 5 to prepare for SEA Games 28 and the national football squad on May 17 for World Cup 2018.

U23 Vietnam may face off strong rivals in the qualifying round of SEA Games 28 scheduled to take place from May 29 to June 15 in Singapore.

The draw is set to get underway on April 14. Eleven U23 teams in the Southeast Asian region are divided into two groups.

Defending champion U23 Thailand is seeded No 1 and the host, U23 Singapore No 2.

The draw for the World Cup 2018 second round will be held on the same day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Viet Nam lose to India in Asia Oceania Junior Davis Cup

Viet Nam lost 3-0 to India in Group B of the qualifying round for the Asia Oceania Junior Davis Cup in Shepparton, Australia yesterday, April 8.

In the first singles match, Tu Minh Tri Henry lost to P Somani 5-7, 4-6, while Nguyen Dac Tien was also defeated by N Sinha 2-6, 2-6 in the second men's rubber.

In the doubles, S Banthia and Somani beat Henry and Tien 6-0, 7-6.

Today, Viet Nam will meet Pakistan.

Sixteen nations from the Asia Oceania Zone are competing in the tournament, divided into four groups.

Viet Nam have no more athletes at Singapore Open

Vietnamese shuttlers were blown out of the Singapore Open badminton tournament yesterday.

Nguyen Tien Minh was defeated 18-21, 21-19, 14-21 by No 3 seed Kidambi Srikanth of India in the first round of the men's singles event.

Last year, Minh was eliminated from the second round at the hands of the same rival.

In the women's event, Vu Thi Trang lost 13-21, 11-21 to No 4 seed Wang Yihan of China. Trang reached the third round last year.

It is the second competition in a row that both Trang and Minh have failed in the first round. Last week they lost at the Malaysian Open.

The two will compete at the Dong Feng Citroen Badminton Asia Championships 2015 from April 21-26 in China.

Kienlongbank to sponsor V.League 2 and National Cup

Kienlongbank has become a key sponsor for the V.League 2 and the National Cup this year.

The sponsorship signing ceremony was held yesterday between the bank and the Viet Nam Professional Football Joint Stock Company in HCM City.

The Kienlongbank V.League 2 2015 will kick off on Saturday with the participation of eight teams. The winners will be promoted to play in V.League 1 next year and will be awarded VND1 billion (US$47,000).

The second- and third-placed teams will get a bonus of VND500 million ($23,000) and VND250 million ($11,500), respectively. The league's top scorer will win VND20 million ($950), and the winners of the fair play award will receive VND100 million ($4,700).

The Kienlongbank National Cup has also drawn the participation 22 teams. The winners will walk away with VND1 billion (US$47,000).

Company plans second Arsenal-supported academy in HCM City

A Vietnamese firm is planning to build an Arsenal-supported football (soccer) academy in Ho Chi Minh City following the success of the first such facility established in Vietnam eight years ago.

Nutifood, a nutrition company, has worked with authorities in the city on a proposal to construct the Nutifood HAGL – Arsenal JMG academy after it signed a memorandum of understanding with the HAGL – Arsenal JMG academy on January 31.

The firm’s plan on that academy has been submitted to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee for consideration.

Hua Ngoc Thuan, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee, said in a meeting with Nutifood representatives on Tuesday that the city welcomes the non-profit football academy project and will give priority to its construction soon.

He requested the Department of Culture and Sports to work closely with Nutifood to survey the site for the construction.

Deputy Chairman Thuan recommended that the academy be built in the Rach Chiec sports complex in District 2.

Tran Thanh Hai, board chairman of Nutifood, said, “We will ask the city to grant us an area from five to ten hectares for building three training grounds, swimming pools, and other facilities.”

The Nutifood HAGL – Arsenal JMG academy plans to recruit its first batch of trainees in June this year and they will be temporarily trained at Phu Tho Sports Hall in District 11.

The HAGL – Arsenal JMG academy was founded in 2007 in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai with technical support from English Premier League side Arsenal and Jean-Marc Guillou (JMG), a French ex-footballer and currently trainer.

Many players from this academy have been called up to the under-19 and under-23 national teams of Vietnam so many people have believed the facility is a success story of training young footballers for the country.

Guillou and the company JMG has nine academies throughout the world, including sites in the Ivory Coast established in 1994, Madagascar in 2000, Thailand in 2005, Mali in 2006, Algeria and Egypt in 2007, Ghana in 2008, and Belgium in 2009.

VNS//TT