On February 12, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) signed a contract with Japanese expert Yutaka Ikeuchi as a technical supervisor for the Vietnam U17 team, preparing to participate in the 2025 AFC U17 Championship finals.
VFF hopes that the Japanese strategist will coordinate with the coaching staff of the Vietnam U17 team to develop advanced training methods and achieve good results at the 2025 U17 Asian Cup.
FIFA has just decided to increase the number of teams participating in the 2025 U17 World Cup from 24 to 48 teams, of which Asia has 8 places to participate. U17 Vietnam has the opportunity to win tickets through this Asian tournament.
According to the plan, the 2025 AFC U17 Championship finals will take place from April 3 to April 20, 2025 in Saudi Arabia. According to the draw results, the Vietnam U17 team is in a group with defending champions Japan, Australia and the UAE.
To prepare for the tournament, the Vietnam U17 team is expected to gather in early March.
Mr. Yutaka Ikeuchi was born in 1961 in Aichi, Japan. After graduating from Aichi High School in 1980, he began his football career at Toyota Industries Club and played for the Japan U20 team.
After retiring, Mr. Ikeuchi turned to coaching and has made many contributions to Japanese football. He has served as head coach of the Fujita women's team, coach of the Nagoya Grampus Eight children's and youth teams, coach of the Nagoya Grampus Eight first team, and was the General Manager of the Monolith club.
From 2003 to 2023, Mr. Ikeuchi was a lecturer at the Japan Football Association (JFA) and participated in the training of many generations of young players. He served as the Director of the JFA Men's Football Academy and the head coach of the Japan National Men's U15, U16, and U17 teams.
Mr. Ikeuchi holds a JFA “S” Coaching License and has held various important positions within the JFA, including JFA Deputy Director of Youth Training and JFA Director of Youth Training. He is also a member of the JFA Technical Committee and the JFA Women’s Football Committee.
With over 20 years of teaching experience, Mr. Ikeuchi has trained many generations of young players and is a lecturer for JFA C, B, A and S (Pro) classes. He was also a lecturer for the U15 A class.
