It is an award called “AFC President’s Recognition for Community Football”. Although it is only bronze, it is clear that the award recognizes what VFF has done in its efforts to develop Vietnamese football. However, it is also necessary to understand more clearly that this is Grassroots Football, not Professional Football.
Developing community football and school football has been given special attention and attention by FIFA for its effectiveness. Information from VFF in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Training to deploy to 1,000 schools in 63 provinces and cities across the country; or the FFAV Community Football Project (a cooperation between VFF and the Norwegian Football Federation) - winning the award for the Best Grassroots Project in Asia, in more than 15 provinces and cities; supporting the organization of grassroots football tournaments for children and students, increasing investment in developing grassroots football all show positive signs.
These awards come just days after the Vietnam U17 team won a ticket to the AFC U17 Championship finals next year, a result that experts have described as a “bright spot”, rare but hopeful, in the current context of Vietnamese football. However, the question will be the continuity, or more precisely, the continuation of events. What are the next actions after each event?
Is the promotion of the movement maintained on a regular basis or will the provided tools be... stored away? And will there be any “gems in the rough” to be found each time an event is held?
Likewise, for the U17 team, opportunities are opened up when not only half of the teams participating in the Asian finals will participate in the U17 World Cup, but FIFA will also continuously organize the World Cup for this age group for 5 consecutive years (2025 to 2029). So, what will VFF do to give more training opportunities to young players, and to the next generations?
