The opening ceremony of the 2026 National U21 Football Championship Finals

Speaking at the opening ceremony, VFF General Secretary Nguyen Van Phu, Head of the Organizing Committee, emphasized that the tournament is not only an annual playground but also an ideal environment to discover, train, and refine young talents, providing a solid stepping stone for players before advancing to professional competition and joining national teams. He also expressed confidence that, with thorough preparation in both organization and professionalism, along with the determined, fair, and sportsmanlike spirit of the participating teams, this year's tournament will deliver exciting, high-quality matches. Thereby, it will continue to affirm the position of the national youth football tournament system in contributing resources to Vietnamese football.

The finals of the 2026 National U21 Football Championship - FPT Play Cup bring together 12 teams, including: U21 The Cong - Viettel, U21 Hanoi, U21 PVF, U21 Hanoi Police, U21 Song Lam Nghe An, U21 LPBank Hoang Anh Gia Lai, U21 SHB Da Nang, U21 Ho Chi Minh City, U21 Dong Nai, U21 Tay Ninh, U21 An Giang, and the host team U21 PVF-CAND.

The teams are divided into three groups, playing a single round-robin to accumulate points, from which the eight best teams will advance to the quarterfinals, including three group winners, three runners-up, and the two best third-placed teams.

The total prize value for the finals is 500 million VND; of which, the champion will receive a reward of 250 million VND, the runner-up 120 million VND, and the two joint third-place teams 60 million VND each. Additionally, there are awards for the fair play team, best player, top scorer, best goalkeeper, and the refereeing team that best fulfills its duties.