Thanh Chuong football teams strive to win medals at the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth and Children Football Tournament

Locality rich in tradition

In the history of the Youth – Children Football Tournament of Nghe An Newspaper Cup, Thanh Chuong is one of the districts, cities and towns that have participated in all seasons. The players from the village were crowned champions in the Children's age group in 2008; won 3 Second Prizes, 3 Third Prizes.

Although compared to some localities such as Do Luong, Tan Ky, Vinh city or Yen Thanh, Thanh Chuong football teams cannot be on par in terms of achievements, but they are always highly appreciated every time they enter the tournament. The strength of the teams lies in the desire to conquer the peak, the tireless fighting spirit, along with the good physical and technical foundation of the players.

Last season, Thanh Chuong district participated in the Children's age group and made a strong impression. In the group stage, the Nhut team won against Cua Lo Children's Team, lost to Do Luong Children's Team and tied with Quy Chau Children's Team, winning the top spot in the group. In the quarter-finals, Thanh Chuong Children's Team convincingly won against Dien Chau Children's Team with a score of 3-0.

In the semi-finals, Thanh Chuong's young players and Nhi Dong Tan Ky (the team that later won the championship) contributed to what was considered the most exciting match of the tournament when they tied 2-2 in the official 40 minutes of play. Entering the penalty shootout, the Nhi Dong Thanh Chuong players sadly let their opponents overcome them with a score of 4-2, winning third place after the end of the tournament.

What Thanh Chuong Children's team showed in the 2023 season has brought great motivation to the youth football movement in the land. And entering the 2024 season, the local Department of Culture and Sports has decided to send both Youth and Children's teams to participate in the tournament.

Strive for the goal of winning a medal

Mr. Thai Truong Tho - Director of the Center for Culture - Sports and Communication of Thanh Chuong district said: "Determining that the Youth - Children's Football Tournament of Nghe An Newspaper Cup is an important event for the development of the mass sports movement of Thanh Chuong in general and the whole province in particular, so from the beginning of the year, the district has had a plan to prepare the force to participate in the tournament. From May 15, after having the regulations of the tournament, the Center for Culture - Sports and Communication of the district quickly established 2 teams to participate in the tournament and the activities of the center all prioritize the training of the teams. Promoting the achievements of last year's season, Thanh Chuong's goal for this year's season is that at least one team will win a medal."

For more than 2 weeks now, every morning, Thanh Dong commune stadium has been bustling with the sound of football and the cheers of coaches and players of 2 youth football teams of Thanh Chuong district. Under the direction of 2 coaches Van Thanh Chuong and Nguyen Xuan Tuan, the teams are enthusiastically practicing, aiming to achieve good results at the 26th Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth - Children Football Tournament in 2024.

Coach Van Thanh Chuong - Officer of the Center for Culture - Sports and Communication of Thanh Chuong district, who has been involved in the Youth - Children's Football Tournament of Nghe An Newspaper Cup since the first season, said: "Thanh Chuong district has finalized the list of 24 players participating in the Youth - Children's Football Tournament of Nghe An Newspaper Cup, including 16 Youth players and 8 Children's players. Compared to previous seasons, this year the force in the children's age group is relatively thin, so the main purpose of participating is to compete and accumulate experience for the next season, while the coaching staff focuses on achieving high results in the Youth age group."

Among the 14 players of the Thanh Chuong Youth Team, there are 8 players who participated in last year's season in the Children's age group. Although the most outstanding player of last year's children's group, Dinh La Thang, was not present because he was selected to join the youth team of Song Lam Nghe An Club, the Thanh Chuong Youth Team still has outstanding faces such as Vo Nguyen Gia Bao, Ho Xuan Khanh, Tran Tien Dung, Nguyen Phi Long... In addition, the team was supplemented with a number of outstanding players discovered from Phu Dong Sports Festivals at all levels and grassroots football tournaments in the district.

“In recent seasons, the favorable conditions for selecting players to participate in the Youth Football Tournament – ​​Children’s Football Cup Nghe An Newspaper of Thanh Chuong district is the amateur gifted football class of Song Lam Nghe An Club opened in the district. Besides, parents are also very interested, actively accompanying the players in training as well as in competition.

However, there are also some difficulties such as many players come from communes far from the district center such as Hanh Lam, Thanh Thuy, etc., so parents have a hard time picking them up and dropping them off; mobilizing social resources is also limited. However, we are determined to always strive to overcome difficulties, focus highly on training to bring the team to good results this season," coach Van Thanh Chuong added.

Present in the stands of Thanh Dong Commune Stadium were the brothers who always followed the players' running steps and training sessions. Among them, there were many old men and women who did not mind the hot weather to come and support the training sessions.

Mr. Mai The Nhung (born in 1963), grandfather of player Mai The Sang (Thanh Chuong Youth Team) said: “Sang’s parents both work as workers in Hai Phong, leaving him and his two younger siblings with his grandparents. He loves football very much and was called to join the team of Hanh Lam Primary School to participate in the Phu Dong Sports Festival of the district. Although there is a lot of farm work and gardening, during this time, when he was recruited to join the district’s football team to participate in the provincial youth football tournament, every day I drove him nearly 30km back to town to practice with the team. His parents called every day to encourage him, sending their hopes that he and the whole team would compete well in the upcoming tournament so that they could have a really fun summer.”