On the morning of December 12, representatives of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) including General Secretary Nguyen Van Phu, along with representatives of the National Team Department and the International Relations Department, met and thanked coach Akira Ijiri - who has been with the Vietnamese women's youth teams for the past 6 years and will return to Japan after officially ending his contract with VFF.
At the meeting, on behalf of the VFF leadership, General Secretary Nguyen Van Phu thanked and appreciated the contributions of coach Akira Ijiri during his 6 years working in Vietnam, and affirmed that the players under the training and coaching of Mr. Akira Ijiri will certainly continue to develop and become the core of women's football clubs and the national women's team in the coming time.
Secretary General Nguyen Van Phu wished Mr. Akira Ijiri success in his new assignment at the Japan Football Association (JFA) and believed that, in any position, Mr. Akira Ijiri would continue to be the connecting link in the relationship between VFF and JFA, especially for projects related to the development of Vietnamese women's football in the coming time.
For his part, Mr. Akira Ijiri shared his emotional story about his 6-year journey with Vietnamese women's football, along with unforgettable memories of the country and people of Vietnam.
Mr. Akira Ijiri thanked the VFF leadership for their attention and facilitation, the active coordination of VFF functional departments towards him over the past time, and supported him to successfully complete the assigned tasks.
"Vietnam will always be a part of my heart. I wish Vietnamese women's football will continue to develop," said coach Akira Ijiri.
Coach Akira Ijiri has been working in Vietnam since May 2019, under a cooperation agreement between VFF and JFA.
During his 6 years working in Vietnam, Mr. Akira Ijiri has made remarkable contributions to the training and coaching of the reserve teams and the youth women's teams from U16 to U20, thereby contributing significantly to improving the professional level of the next generation of players of women's football clubs and the Vietnamese national women's teams.
Under his leadership, the young women's teams have made significant progress and achieved many good results, including the runner-up position at the 2023 Southeast Asian Women's U19 Championship and reaching the final round of the 2024 Asian Women's U20 Championship.
This is also the first time the Vietnam U20 women's team has reached the highest level of Asian football.
