The National Seven-a-side Football Championship 2024 for Hyundai Thanh Cong Cup in the central region kicked off at the Dam Sen Stadium in Hoa Quy Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District, Da Nang on Saturday. This is the third consecutive time the tournament has taken place in the city.

Hieu Hoa Quahaco (left) drew 1-1 with Truong Hung The Gia on the opening day.

The highlights of this year's tournament were the participation of many foreign players and the increasing number of participating teams compared to previous seasons.

This year’s tournament sees the participation of more than 50 teams from the northern, southern, central and central highlands regions. After the qualifying rounds in regions, the 8 teams with the best results will earn tickets to the national finals scheduled to be held in December.

In the Central region, the 9 participating teams were divided into 2 groups that competed in a round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals and finals.

Group A included the teams of Hieu Hoa Quahaco, Bay Le, QC Tran Gia and Truong Hung The Gia. Meanwhile, Group B had AE GFDI Song Han, V&V, Xay Dung Bao Anh, Kiet Phuoc and Ngoc Luan.

On the opening day, the 4 matches of the first round attracted a large number of spectators to the stadium to cheer. Hieu Hoa Quahaco, the defending champion, struggled to hold a 1-1 draw against Truong Hung The Gia. Meanwhile, Bay Le beat QC Tran Gia 2-1 to temporarily take the lead in Group A.

In contrast to Hieu Hoa Quahaco, the reigning champion of the Central region AE GDFI Song Han easily had a 4-0 victory against rookie Kiet Phuoc in the opening match of Group B. In the match at the same time, V&V won 2-1 against Ngoc Luan FC.

Reporting by PHI NONG - Translating by M.DUNG, T.TUNG