On December 30, the 3rd Vietnam Youth Student Football Tournament - 2025 THACO Cup officially opened - the qualifying round of the Northern region officially opened at the stadium of Thuy Loi University (Hanoi).
In his opening speech, journalist Tran Viet Hung - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Thanh Nien Newspaper said: "After 2 very successful events, the Vietnam Youth Student Football Tournament has entered its 3rd season with the eager anticipation of universities, colleges and academies across the country. The tournament has become a useful playground for young people to practice physical training, enhance solidarity and dedication to the community.
Every match, regardless of the result, is a valuable lesson in fighting spirit and constant effort. I believe that the teams will play their best, giving the audience good matches, in accordance with the spirit of the tournament: play well, win well, cheer well."
This year's tournament has 67 participating teams, of which 66 teams compete in the qualifying round in 5 regions (the host team Ton Duc Thang University goes straight to the final round).
Accordingly, the Northern qualifying round has 9 competing teams: Thuy Loi University, National Economics University, Hanoi University of Physical Education and Sports, Dong A University of Technology, Thanh Hoa University of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Dai Nam University, Hanoi University of Industry, Viet Hung University of Industry, Hanoi University of Business and Technology.
This year, the tournament has some new points in the tournament regulations such as the age of players from 18 to 25 years old. Each team can register a maximum of 3 players who have competed in national U19 and U21 tournaments from 2022 to present and a maximum of 5 foreign students (who have never competed in national tournaments organized by VFF).
The Northern Regional Qualifiers will take place from December 30, 2024 to January 10, 2025.
In addition, the Central Coast region will be held from January 6 to January 12, 2025 in Da Nang; the South Central and Central Highlands regions will take place from January 10 to January 18, 2025 in Nha Trang); the Southeast region will take place from January 4 to January 12, 2025 in Ba Ria - Vung Tau; the Southwest region will take place from January 8 to January 17, 2025 in Can Tho and the Ho Chi Minh City region will take place from December 28, 2024 to January 15, 2025.
The 11 best teams in the regions, along with the host team Ton Duc Thang University, will compete in the final round of the tournament, taking place from March 1 to March 16, 2025 in Ho Chi Minh City.
The Vietnam Youth Student Football Tournament is assigned by the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the Central Committee of the Vietnam Student Association to Thanh Nien Newspaper in coordination with the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) to organize annually, during the period from the anniversary of the Vietnamese Students' Traditional Day (January 9) to the celebration of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union's Founding Day (March 26) and Vietnam Sports Day (March 27).
In addition, this tournament has been officially included in the annual national competition system of VFF and Vietnam Student Sports Tournament (VUG).
