The 5^th Da Nang Newspaper Football Tournament for primary and junior high school pupils opened at the city’s Tien Son Sports Arena this morning, and it will run until 23 May.  Matches will be played daily at 7.00am and 2pm, and admission is free for spectators.

This year’s tournament has 16 teams participating, and they will compete in a round-robin format in the qualifying rounds.

The event’s main sponsors are the Da Nang-Mien Trung Investment Joint Stock Company, the Promotion Fund for Vietnamese Football Talent, the Phu Hoang Transport Services Company, and the Nhan Dan (People) Newspaper Printing Company.

Action from last year’s tournament

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Da Nang Newspaper Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Head of the Organising Board, Mr Le Quang A, said “The tournament creates a useful challenge for local primary and junior high school pupils.  It will help them to strengthen their physical health, and significantly improve the quality of physical education at local schools”.

In order to prepare for the tournament, many of the teams began practising indoors straight after the Tet holiday ended.

Mr Phan Thep, Deputy Director of the Ngu Hanh Son Culture and Sports Centre, said that football teams from junior high schools in Ngu Hanh Son District had won three of the last 4 tournaments.  He remarked that the tournaments have helped to promote the development of community football.

Mrs Mac Thi Vinh Cam, head of the defending champions team from the Nguyen Du primary school, noted “In attempting to successfully defend our championship title, our school’s Principal Board arranged for the school’s football team to practise in the Tien Son Sports Arena so that the players could become familiar with the playing area”.

The Director of the municipal Department of Education and Training, Mr Nguyen Dinh Vinh, stressed the need for the tournament’s organising board to ensure truthfulness and fairness for participating teams, as well as strictly handle any violations of the football rules.