core factors of interest
According to the Project for the development of Vietnamese football until 2030, with a vision to 2045 approved by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the goals of the Vietnamese national teams are clearly defined from the regional and continental levels to the world level. In the next 20 years, the Vietnam National Team is determined to aim for the FIFA World Cup finals, specifically reaching the third qualifying round of the 2030 World Cup and attending the 2034 World Cup.
To realize the biggest goal of Vietnamese football, the development project proposes many systematic tasks, including improving the youth football competition system including all ages.
According to the Project, young players need to play at least 20-30 matches/year. Therefore, this task requires increasing the number of official matches each year for young players of all ages. The solution is to organize more football tournaments and football cups for the next generation U17-U19 of professional clubs (8-12 teams). In addition, the format of organizing youth tournaments according to the round-robin format in the region will be conducted throughout the year, instead of being limited to 2 stages including the qualifying round and the final round as at present.
This can be considered a turning point change for Vietnamese youth football. Because over the years, on average, an average player from U15 to U21 can only play less than 20 matches per year. The lack of opportunities to play affects the development path of the players.
Encouraging youth training at club level
In addition to the "men's guiding principle" of increasing the number of matches for young players at the national tournament level, the Vietnam Football Development Project also aims to encourage the Vietnam Football Federation to coordinate with clubs to promote selection, develop the youth force continuously and systematically with quality improvement over time.
Accordingly, VFF needs to develop a framework training program for youth teams according to the orientation of the national team's tactical system, style, and playing style, under the supervision of the National Football Technical Director; planning and using a team of coaches with deep professional training, while supporting localities and clubs in upgrading facilities and other conditions to ensure training and coaching (field, recovery from injuries, inviting experts to teach, organizing international seminars).
The Vietnam Football Federation will also be responsible for coordinating with localities to participate in completing the youth player training system synchronously through youth training stages from low to high (organic training, deep specialization and sports completion).
Correspondingly, there are training routes: Amateur talent (aged from 71) at amateur football talent schools in provinces and cities; route of concentrated football talent schools (aged 12-15) at major football centers and localities with developed football movements; youth training route (aged 16-18) at professional football centers and clubs; route of national youth teams (U15, U17, U10) at national youth football training centers and national sports training centers.
Professional football clubs, football academies and local football training centers need to apply policies to encourage the training of young players. National centers only focus on training youth teams according to plans before participating in international tournaments, especially focusing on training youth teams preparing to participate in the Olympics.
A notable point in the Project is that the professional football tournament system needs to aim to apply mandatory regulations on the rate of young players allowed to play, thereby encouraging youth football training at clubs.
