Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament: Opportunity for young players to catch the attention of scouts

Ahead of the 2024 season, Nghe An Newspaper had an interview with Mr. Tran Quang Dung - Director of Song Lam Nghe An Youth Football Training Center.

PV: The Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament has been held 25 times. What is your opinion about this tournament?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:I have been following the Nghe An Newspaper Cup since I started studying at the University of Physical Education and Sports. I feel proud because at that time, no locality in the country was capable of organizing such a formal tournament. Therefore, my friends who are studying at the University of Physical Education and Sports have chosen this Tournament as the topic of their theses. I feel extremely proud because Nghe An is the first unit in the country to organize a highly professional Youth and Children's Tournament.

It was not until later that some localities in the country learned from Nghe An's model to organize similar football tournaments. However, in terms of size, scale and quality, they cannot be compared to Nghe An Newspaper Cup.

Later, when I worked at Song Lam Nghe An, I found that the Nghe An Newspaper Cup created favorable conditions for the club to have a source of players to select. Besides, the Nghe An Newspaper Cup is also the place where many national football stars took flight. Some of them are Nguyen Manh, Que Ngoc Hai, Khac Ngoc, Van Duc, Xuan Manh...

PV: Can you tell us about the opportunities for players to enter the professional football career when participating in the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:The Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament is a gathering place for excellent football teams from districts, cities and towns throughout Nghe An province. Through the matches in this tournament, we will be able to easily find players with special qualities to select for Song Lam Nghe An. In addition, many large youth football training academies such as Hanoi FC, Viettel, PVF... have sent scouts to directly monitor the matches to find players. Therefore, this is a great opportunity for athletes to show their full talent, thereby being able to catch the eye of professional football managers.

PV: This year, the regulations have changed the age of athletes participating in the tournament. Specifically: Children's playgrounds will include children born in 2014 and later; in the Youth playground, players must not be over 12 years old. With such an age change, what advantages do you think it will bring to youth football training centers, as well as athletes?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:Every year, the Vietnam Football Federation will organize the Youth and Children's Tournament according to the age groups of 11 and 13. Therefore, when the Nghe An Newspaper Cup in 2024 lowers the age, it will create favorable conditions for youth football training centers to be able to select a source of quality athletes, qualified to participate in the national U11 and U13 in 2025.

In addition, athletes who participate in the Nghe An Newspaper Cup and are selected to the Song Lam Nghe An youth football training center will have the opportunity to participate in the National Youth and Children's Tournament early next year.

In previous seasons, athletes selected from the Nghe An Newspaper Cup would have to wait 2 years to participate in tournaments organized by the Vietnam Football Federation. That greatly affected the development of the players and also affected the strength of the Song Lam Nghe An youth teams.

Lowering the age limit for players this season will help them compete with more enthusiasm and effort. In addition, it will also attract many youth football training centers across the country to come and search for talent, which will bring great stimulation for players to show their full potential.

PV: As the Director of Song Lam Nghe An Youth Football Training Center, in your opinion, what criteria do scouts use to select players through the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:Based on the experience and football training skills of the coaches, the Center has built a set of criteria to select young players. Specifically, there will be 5 criteria for us to approve a player including: technique, speed, thinking, competitive spirit and physique.

We hope that the young players coming to this tournament will play with full confidence, show all their talents, and contribute to beautiful matches. That is the top criteria that the Organizing Committee wants to aim for.

After the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament ends, we will organize for 30 Children's players and 20 Youth players selected from the tournament to gather for 5 days at the Center. They will be re-selected, if they pass the selection, they will be signed a contract by Song Lam Nghe An Club.

PV: Song Lam Nghe An is a member of the Organizing Committee of the 2024 Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament, so how has the club prepared for the success of the tournament?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:Right in the first days of June, Song Lam Nghe An will renovate the field, cut grass, repair the lighting system, and clean the stands to prepare the best conditions for the 2024 Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth and Children's Football Tournament.

In parallel, the Youth Training Center has presented to the club leadership to establish an Athlete Selection Council. This council will be divided into 2 groups. Each group will consist of 5 to 6 coaches, operating independently to select players for the U10 and U12 playgrounds.

PV: Over the years, Nghe An Newspaper has always focused on communication work for the tournament. This year in particular, in order to increase its reach across the country, Nghe An Newspaper has proactively cooperated with FPT Media (the copyright holder of the V.League) to broadcast the matches live. So, in your opinion, what benefits will this bring to the tournament and the participating players?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:I think that the matches, when filmed and broadcast live on FPT channel, will help the tournament to be raised to a higher level. The tournament will have a wide spread in and out of the country, reaching the children of Nghe An who are living far from home. With this spread, in the future, the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament will no longer be limited to the province but will be known by many fans everywhere.

In addition, when the tournament is broadcast widely, it will stimulate the teams and players to show off their full potential. The teams and athletes will therefore invest, prepare better, and be more professional. Through live broadcast, the players will have the opportunity to show themselves to the top youth football training academies in the country.

I think that the widespread media coverage of the Nghe An Newspaper Cup will bring many benefits to the tournament, sponsors and athletes.

PV: What suggestions do you have to make this year's tournament successful?

Mr. Tran Quang Dung:Currently, Song Lam Nghe An and many youth training centers across the country pay special attention to the problem of age fraud. Fraud will affect the development of players, as well as the integrity of Vietnamese youth football tournaments. Currently, Song Lam Nghe An is stepping up the control of players' ages. Therefore, I hope that the organizing committee and the referee council of the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament will have a plan to strictly check the age of the players when participating. In addition, I also ask the leaders of the teams and parents of the players to uphold the spirit of honesty and say no to age fraud. If this is guaranteed, the players and football teams of the province will have a more sustainable development in the future.

PV: Thank you for the interview!