The regional qualifiers of the National Seven-a-side Football Championship will be held in three cities and provinces in May. Photo of VietFootball

HÀ NỘI  The national seven-a-side football tournament will kick off in three regions this week.

VietFootball, organisers of the event, and title sponsor Bia Saigon, on May 8 held a press conference to announce the Vietnam Premier League - Season 5 (VPL-S5).

The Northern region tournament, Hanoi Premier League - Season 11 (HPL-S11), will begin on May 12 in Hà Nội. The Southern region competition, Saigon Premier League - Season 6 (SPL-S6) will start on May 18 in HCM City. The Central and Central Highlands region event Daklak Premier League - Season 2 (ĐPL-S3) will be on June 2 in Đắk Lắk Province.

The eight strongest teams from the regional qualifications will compete at the finals in August with the venue to be confirmed at a later date.

It is the 11th year that the seven-a-side football tournament has been held. Organisers also held different formats such as the National Championship, National Cup and Super Cup. An international competition with guest teams from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia also took place last year.

"In the circumstance of a difficult economy, VietFootball is happy to have Bia Saigon accompany us in the national championship for the third year in a row," said Phạm Ngọc Tuấn, general director of VietFootball.

“Under the strong support of the title sponsor, we believe that we will continue to break the limit to lift Việt Nam's seven-a-side football to a new height.

"With the spirit of "Play consciously - Play to enjoy", we hope to receive more support to jointly develop this genre of football in the country strongly and sustainably.

"In the near future, it is expected that each city and province will have its own tournament which will help develop the sport locally and lure the eyes of foreign countries so that seven-a-side football could be known internationally as a Việt Nam's specialty." 

Organisers answer questions from the media at the National Seven-a-side Football Championship announcement. -- Photo of VietFootball

Bia Saigon representative Đinh Nguyễn Thị Nhung said: “Sport is always an important part of Bia Saigon's sustainable development strategy to bring the best to Việt Nam.

"In addition to support programmes aimed at high-performance sports, we also focus on coordinating with relevant parties to implement many projects to promote healthy, active lifestyles in the community."

Nhung added that the company's support for the national championship was due to the strong following of seven-a-side football in the community. He said they are proud to go along with VietFootball in organising and developing the sport around the country before crossing the border into the world.

In its 11 years, the tournament featured the participation of many national 11-a-side football players such as Nguyễn Thành Lương, Nguyễn Hoàng Đức and Brazilian-Vietnamese Kesley Alves, the most successful imported player in Việt Nam.

"I played seven-a-side football in the past and still care about it today," said national captain Đỗ Hùng Dũng said.

“Year by year, the quality of the tournament has increased. Players are good in terms of tactics, technique and physique. The seven-a-side football is close to the community and I hope it will receive support to strongly develop and become an international sport in the future." VNS