At the beginning of June, the national senior team and the U23 squad will all gather to prepare for their important goals in 2019. With the desire to improve the quality of both squads, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) leaders and coach Park Hang-seo have affirmed that they will seriously consider and create favourable conditions for talented foreign-born Vietnamese players who want to contribute to the country's football.
Along with the strong
development of Vietnamese football over the past year, overseas Vietnamese
players wishing to come to Vietnam to compete in the domestic leagues or
showing a desire to contribute to the national teams is on a positive trend.
It is possible to mention the
faces that have returned to play for domestic teams and partly show their
abilities and qualities as midfielder Adriano Schmidt (Germany) of V.League 1’s
Hai Phong FC, Australian-born striker Martin Lo of second tier Pho Hien FC,
Russian-born goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, and striker Mac Hong Quan (Czech
Republic).
However, there are still
unfortunate cases when the players do not meet the professional requirements or
face difficulties in integrating into the new football environment despite
enjoying favourable conditions when returning to Vietnam.
According to VFF Secretary
General Le Hoai Anh, the federation is always ready to create the best
conditions and welcome other overseas Vietnamese players returning home to
contribute to the national teams, as long as they fully meet the professional
requirements of the coaching staff and legal conditions to play for the Vietnam
national teams in accordance with FIFA’s rules.
According to information from
the VFF, this weekend, coach Park will travel to Europe to scout and meet
several overseas Vietnamese players who are on the list synthesised by the
VFF’s professional department. Among them, four European players including
Alexander Dang (Norway), Kelvin Bui (Netherlands), Jason Pendant (France) and
Filip Nguyen (Czech Republic) are the most prominent names.
Park also agreed with the
VFF’s leaders to be ready to welcome Vietnamese talents meeting the two
conditions that are they must possess real talent and the desire to contribute
to the national teams.
"As the person responsible for
the team's expertise, I cannot select a player who does not want to play for
the national teams, and also cannot choose that player solely because he is
playing in Europe. So I need to directly observe the overseas Vietnamese
players to get the most accurate assessment of their abilities,” Park affirmed.
The 60-year-old Korean
strategist will act as the decisive voice in the selection of personnel for the
teams. "From the opinions of Park, the VFF will gradually make contact and
support within the allowable scope to help such overseas Vietnamese players to
quickly and smoothly play for Vietnam," Le Hoai Anh said.
With the progression of
Vietnamese football, talents who are competing abroad could be considered as a
potential resource for VFF to supplement the squads. However, careful
consideration is needed to give the opportunity to those who are full of
aspirations as well as having the capacity to secure a slot in the national
teams.
The Vietnam senior and U23
squads will be announced later this month. The senior team will compete at the
King’s Cup in Thailand from June 5 to 8, while the U23s will play a friendly
against Myanmar in Hanoi on June 7.
In recent years, Lac Thuy district has paid increasing attention to investing in cultural and sports infrastructure. These grassroots facilities have attracted a large number of residents to participate in recreational and cultural activities, physical training, and community engagement, contributing to the development of cultural life and the local socio-economic growth.
In recent years, the mass physical training and sports (PTS) movement in Hoa Binh province has developed strongly and spread widely. Regardless of age, gender or occupation, people actively participate in physical training, creating a vibrant and enthusiastic sports atmosphere within the community.
Recently, Hoa Binh’s athletes have continued to show strong performances at national-level competitions. Alongside elite athletes, several standout performers have emerged from grassroots sports movements, underlining the province’s growing sports culture.
From April 26 to 27, at the Provincial Sports Arena, the Hoa Binh Provincial Karate Federation organized the 2025 Hoa Binh Open ASUDO Karate Championship.
While modern sports like volleyball and football continue to grow in popularity, traditional folk games and ethnic sports remain a vibrant and essential part of cultural life among the Muong community in Hoa Binh province.
A total of 85 young players from across Hoa Binh province recently participated in the provincial Youth Table Tennis Tournament. Organised by the provincial Centre for Youth Activities, the event was part of activities to celebrate the 94th founding anniversary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (March 26, 1931 – 2025) and the 79th anniversary of Vietnam Sports Day (March 27, 1946 – 2025).