Nearly 1000 players gather at Vietnam Football Festival for U9, U11, and U13 categories.

In the afternoon of July 23 in Ho Chi Minh City, VSSG, together with the Ho Chi Minh City Police Football Club, announced the 2026 Vietnam Football Festival for U9, U11, and U13 with the theme "Starting Passion, Awakening Potential."

This isFestivalthe first national-scale youth football tournament for community football centers across the country.

Festivalbrings together 44 clubs and community football centers from the three regions of North, Central, and South, including 12 U9 teams and 32 teams in the U11 and U13 age groups.

It is expected that nearly 1000 young players will compete in 104 matches, with each team guaranteed 5 to 6 matches. All matches will take place from July 30 to August 1, 2026, at Nha Trang University and will be broadcast live on FPT Play.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Hong Minh - Deputy Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration emphasized: "Just as a house needs a solid foundation, Vietnamese football needs a base from grassroots and youth football to develop. The Vietnam Sports Administration highly appreciates the efforts of VSSG andthe Ho Chi Minh City Police Football Clubin creating a meaningful playground for young players."

Mr. Le Ba Hoai - Deputy of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Football Club expressed hope: "Through this U9, U11, U13 Festival, the club hopes to find young football players, discover and train talented young players to provide conditions for their development."

According to Ms. Cao Thu Van - Deputy General Director of VSSG and Head of the Organizing Committee: "The festival is oriented to become an annual tournament system, building a professional and fair competition environment, contributing to discovering and nurturing young talents for Vietnamese football."

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan highly appreciated the significance of the tournament: "Some countries with developed football industries like Spain, Japan, South Korea, Italy... create playgrounds for community football clubs nationwide, providing many opportunities for children during an active summer, where football dreams are written."

Speaking for VFF, Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Trang - Deputy Secretary General of VFF stated: "We view this tournament not only as a purely professional event but also as a cultural bridge between community football centers nationwide. This is the right direction, contributing to the development of youth football for the future of Vietnamese football."

Mr. Tran Huy Duc - Member of the VFF Executive Committee said that the organizing committee does not charge participation fees, only collects a deposit that will be refunded after the tournament, and also provides partial travel support for distant teams, arranges venues, balls, water, milk, and other professional conditions.

Referees, supervisors, and professional staff also participate voluntarily, without receiving any remuneration. The U9 young players will compete on futsal pitches, while the U11 and U13 players will play on 7-a-side pitches so they can practice tactical thinking and accumulate experience.

The festival receives media sponsorship from FPT Play, coordination from Nha Trang University, and partnership with the Vietnam Sports Administration, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Khanh Hoa Province, VietFootball, Phu Dong FC Football Academy, and many other units.

With its large scale and long-term development orientation, the 2026 Vietnam Football Festival U9, U11, U13 is expected to become an annual event for community football, contributing to building a solid foundation for Vietnamese youth football.