Cong Vinh, Thanh Luong, and Van Quyet compete for the Vietnamese Golden Ball award.

The organizing committee of the 2014 Vietnam Golden Ball award announced the shortlist of nominees in each category this morning, April 7th.

Cong Vinh (left) scored four goals in last year's AFF Cup. Photo: Duc Dong.

In the most important award for male players, Le Cong Vinh (Binh Duong), Pham Thanh Luong and Nguyen Van Quyet (Hanoi T&T) were the three finalists. They are all influential players at their clubs, and they also shone in the national team's colors at the 2014 AFF Cup.

Le Cong Vinh has won this award three times, while Thanh Luong has been named twice. Meanwhile, this is the first time Van Quyet has made it into the Top 3.

In the women's category, the competition was between Tuyet Dung (Ha Nam), Minh Nguyet (Hanoi), and Kieu Trinh (Ho Chi Minh City).

For the award for best young male player, three outstanding players from both the Vietnam U19 team and the Olympic team – Nguyen Cong Phuong, Nguyen Tuan Anh, and Vo Huy Toan – are among the three shortlisted nominees. In the women's category, the remaining nominees are Le Hoai Luong, Phan Thi Trang (Ho Chi Minh City), and Bui Thi Trang (Hanoi).

Cong Phuong (left) and Huy Toan have just helped the Vietnamese Olympic team qualify for the U23 Asian Championship finals. Photo: Duc Dong.

The award for best foreign player of 2014 was a competition between Abass, Mosees (Binh Duong) and Natja Ceh (Thanh Hoa).

According to the organizers, they will consider including a category for futsal players in the nominations next year. The awards ceremony will be held on the evening of April 13th at the Ben Thanh Theater in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to VNE