On the morning of August 13, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) held a ceremony to announce the main sponsor and draw and schedule the matches of the National U16 Age Championship - Truong Tuoi Cup 2026, marking the first season of the playground for male players aged 16.
Separating the U16 playground helps the youth competition system have an additional transition level between age groups. This is also an important time for players to accumulate experience before advancing to U17 and higher levels.
The first U16 National season had 10 youth teams participating. Group A brings together Hanoi Police, Viettel The Cong, Hanoi, PVF-CAND, Song Lam Nghe An and Hai Phong. Group B includes Ninh Binh, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Ho Chi Minh City Police and Becamex Ho Chi Minh City.
This year's tournament also allows teams to use a more diverse source of players. Each team is allowed to register a maximum of 1 foreign-born Vietnamese player (repatriated) and one foreign-born Vietnamese player. The regulations also allow each team to use a maximum of 6 14-year-old players.
According to the schedule, the qualifying round starts from August 22nd and ends November 29th. Teams in each group compete in a two-round round-robin format in the home-away format. After the qualifying round, the 4 teams with the best results will win the right to participate in the final round.
By December, the four teams will continue to compete in a round-robin format to determine the final ranking.
The prize money for the 2026 National U16 Championship includes 100 million VND for the champion; the runner-up team receives 80 million VND and the third-placed team receives 50 million VND.
