Stories of people "carrying prison and"…

(Baonghean) - About 10 years ago, when Nghe An had 4 football clubs including SLNA, QK4, VST, Sara Thanh Vinh, the sports industry leaders cherished the idea of ​​establishing the Provincial Football Federation to help the clubs have a unified voice and support the teams to operate more effectively.

In the past 5 years, along with the general trend of the whole country, professional football in Nghe An has been somewhat quiet, but grassroots football has developed very vigorously. Up to this point, in Vinh City alone, there are more than 200 grassroots football clubs. Due to spontaneous activities, many problems have arisen. Lack of playgrounds, no regular tournaments, many teams challenge each other, even spending their own money to send players to play friendly matches with clubs in other provinces such as: Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City...

Nghe An Amateur Football Association organized an auction of Cong Phuong's shirt to support the program "1,000 candles to honor heroic martyrs".

In that context, a number of dedicated individuals such as Nguyen Dam Van (owner of Van Minh FC), Trinh Quoc Bao (BB FC), Ho Le Duc (Chuong Duong FC), Nguyen Hong Phong (former President of SLNA Fan Club), Nguyen Hoang Trung (Free FC) ... stood up to campaign for the establishment of Nghe An Amateur Football Association to gather teams to organize truly meaningful tournaments, in the spirit of noble sportsmanship and solidarity. In just a short time, dozens of football clubs in the province responded positively, they together contributed ideas to draft the Project to establish the Association to organize regular tournaments, create a healthy and useful playground, contribute to promoting the "king sport" to develop more and more, at the same time help the culture and sports sector to be more convenient in managing, orienting and directing the movement...

With that good purpose and meaning, on November 20, 2014, the Provincial People's Committee signed Decision No. 6498/QD-UBND to allow the establishment of Nghe An Amateur Football Association. Thus, for the first time in the country, an Amateur Football Association was officially established, with legal status, headquarters, accounts and its own seal, operating in accordance with the provisions of law and the Association's Charter approved by competent state agencies. On January 17, Nghe An Amateur Football Association held its First Congress (term 2015 - 2020), dozens of members who were delegates representing 16 of the strongest amateur football clubs in Vinh City attended.

The special thing is that, as a completely voluntary association, all funds for all activities of the association are voluntarily contributed by members and called for "Benefactors" and businesses to sponsor through tournaments. From the beginning of 2015 until now, Nghe An grassroots football association has organized 3 tournaments: "For the poor" football tournament for LG An Thinh Cup, "Vinh League 2015" football tournament... All 3 tournaments have attracted the participation of dozens of the strongest grassroots football clubs in Vinh City today, including many famous players such as Van Quyen, Huy Hoang, Lam Tan, Hai Nam, Minh Ngoc, ... even some stars currently playing for SLNA's first team such as Hoang Thinh, Khac Ngoc, ... also took advantage of their days off to participate in the "amateur" playground to exchange and make meaningful contributions to the grassroots football of the province.

Through tournaments and some social activities, in a short time, members of the Nghe An Amateur Football Association have raised tens of millions of VND to support the poor. In the match between SLNA - HAGL on April 12, with the consent of Cong Phuong, members of the Nghe An Amateur Football Association organized an auction of this star's jersey through the social network Facebook to raise funds for the program "1,000 candles to honor the heroic martyrs", someone agreed to buy the jersey for 20 million VND. In addition, when learning that Quang Nam farmers are having difficulty selling watermelons because Chinese traders are forcing down prices, in recent days, the Nghe An Amateur Football Association has supported by becoming a sales agent in Vinh City, calling on many volunteers to sell at many locations. The images of beautiful female soccer players and fans selling watermelons on the streets attracted a lot of customers to support them. According to Nguyen Hong Phong, in just a short time, dozens of tons of watermelons were sold out, helping many farmers in Quang Nam escape a fruitless watermelon season.

It can be seen that Nghe An Amateur Football Association has just been established but has organized many meaningful activities. This first model in the country is being studied and learned by many people who are passionate about amateur football in other provinces. Mr. Nguyen Dam Van - Chairman of Nghe An Amateur Football Association said: "From 16 member clubs, after only 3 months of establishment, the Association has attracted more than 30 participating clubs. After the Vinh League 2015, the Association will continue to organize the first division tournament to compete for a place in the Vinh League next year. Up to now, more than 50 amateur football clubs have submitted applications to participate in the tournament. However, the Association's activities are currently mainly limited to Vinh City. We hope to expand to all 21 districts and cities across the province so that the scale of the Association is true to its name, Nghe An Amateur Football Association, to promote the development of the province's football movement."

Hoang Hao