VFF-SMARTDOOR CUP IN NOVEMBER

Following the sponsorship deal which was signed recently between VFF and Smart Door, the tournament which was formerly known as the Agribank Cup, will now have a change in name.

The annual football tournament has been organised since 2004.

For this year’s meet, U23 teams Vietnam, Thailand, China and Singapore will be taking part in a round-robin format at Hanoi’s My Dinh National Stadium.

The winners will receive USD25,000 with the second and the third teams earning USD10,000 and USD5,000 respectively.

Aspiring football stars will get the chance to shine at an event entitled ‘Football Prince of Viet Nam’ which will be organised in December.

Footballers aged 17-19 years will be able to take part in training sessions in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Can Tho and Buon Ma Thuot.

Trainers and coaches from England will act as judges.

The 28 best footballers will take part in a five-week training course.

The best 16 will continue training after which the best footballer will be invited to train in Liverpool for 12 months for a trip worth USD70,000.

The next best player will train at a north-western city club for three months.

Binh Duong FC were dumped out of the AFC Cup semi-finals when Mohamad Al Hamwi scored a hat-trick to steer Syrian league champions Al Karamah to a 3-0 win at the Khaled Ibn Al Waleed Stadium.

The score at the end of the first-leg in Vietnam was 2-1 in favour of Binh Duong.

Al Hamwi scored his first goal in the 18th minute before adding the second in the 35th minute and then completing his hat-trick with the third goal in the 59th minute.

With the win, Al Karamah will take on Kuwait Sports Club in the final of the AFC Cup this year.