The aspiration to nurture Vietnamese football talent.
These days, on the pitches of SLNA Sports Joint Stock Company, the Provincial Sports Arena, and Vinh Stadium, incredibly exciting matches of the 27th Nghe An Newspaper and Television Cup Youth and Children's Football Tournament, along with the 2026 grassroots talent classes, are taking place. After 26 seasons, the tournament is no longer simply a sporting event but has become a part of cultural life, igniting passion and nurturing the football dreams of children in the homeland of President Ho Chi Minh.
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Tran Minh Ngoc
(Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Director of Nghe An Newspaper and Radio & Television - Chairman of the Provincial Journalists Association)
(Head of the Organizing Committee of the tournament)
• June 8, 2026
*****
These days, on the pitches of SLNA Sports Joint Stock Company, the Provincial Sports Arena, and Vinh Stadium, incredibly exciting matches of the 27th Nghe An Newspaper and Radio & Television Cup Youth and Children's Football Tournament, along with the 2026 grassroots talent classes, are taking place. After 26 seasons, the tournament is no longer simply a sporting event but has become a part of cultural life, igniting passion and nurturing the football dreams of children in the homeland of President Ho Chi Minh.
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The Nghe An Newspaper and Radio & Television Cup Youth and Children's Football Tournament - 2026 takes place in the context of implementing a two-tiered local government model, posing numerous challenges due to changes in management and organization of grassroots activities.
Previously, in 2025, the tournament was interrupted. The Organizing Committee considered many options, even questioning whether the tournament could continue with the same scale and quality as in previous years. Ultimately, a unanimous decision was reached: the tournament must continue and be upgraded in both scale and quality.
That decision stems from a sense of responsibility towards the school sports movement and the tradition of a football tournament that has been built up over the past nearly three decades. From 1996 to the present, the tournament has accompanied countless generations of young players, many of whom have worn the local team's jersey for the first time, stepped onto a big stage, experienced the joy of victory, and learned valuable lessons from defeat. These are precious experiences for their future growth.
It is a source of pride that this competition has produced many outstanding talents of Vietnamese football. Names like Le Cong Vinh, Au Van Hoan, Que Ngoc Hai, Pham Xuan Manh, Phan Van Duc, Nguyen Dinh Bac, Cao Van Binh, Le Nguyen Hoang, Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc, Phan Ba Quyen, and many players currently representing the national teams, all took their first steps in the former Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth and Children's Football Tournament, now the Nghe An Newspaper and Radio & Television Cup.
The journey so far has proven that the tournament has become a crucial link in the province's youth football training system. It serves as a source of talent for the Song Lam Nghe An youth academy, a center for professional football training and a source of pride for the province's sports. An interruption of the tournament would disrupt the chain of discovering, nurturing, and developing young football talents that has been maintained for decades.
The biggest challenge of this year's season lies not in the technical aspects but in the organizational model. For many years, the tournament has been organized according to a system starting from the grassroots level, then to the district level, and finally to the provincial finals. This model has proven effective in spreading the football movement widely to every locality. In 2026, the way the tournament is run must be adjusted to suit the actual situation. However, countless questions have been raised. Who will be responsible for assembling the teams? Who will be responsible for selecting players? What resources will be mobilized to maintain the teams at the grassroots level? Will the youth and children's football movement continue to be sustained? For many communes and wards, this is a complex task involving a long process from selecting athletes, developing training plans, assigning coaches, to securing funding. But it is precisely in this context that we have become more aware of the sense of responsibility of local authorities and organizations towards children and grassroots sports movements.
Nghe An's newspapers, radio, and television stations, in coordination with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, developed new regulations to suit practical conditions. The results are very encouraging. The 2026 tournament attracted the highest number of teams ever: 46 teams participated, including 26 children's teams and 20 youth teams, compared to 32 teams in the 2024 season.
Behind those numbers lies the commendable efforts of collectives and individuals, from the responsibility of grassroots cultural and sports officials to the cooperation of businesses, from the enthusiasm of coaches to the dedication of parents. All of this shows one reality: Youth football still holds a special place in the lives of the people of Nghe An.
For the Organizing Committee, what moved us most was not the impressive numbers, but the fact that the core values of sportsmanship and the passion of Nghe An province are still being kept alive and preserved. Therefore, with this tournament being considered one of the oldest provincial youth football tournaments in the country and having become a sporting brand of Nghe An, the requirements for the new phase are not only to maintain the success of the tournament but also to continue to innovate, build the tournament into an increasingly professional, modern, and more influential event, carrying the great aspirations of Nghe An sports.
This is coupled with a strong emphasis on applying technology and digital transformation in the organization of the tournament. Building a database of athletes provides a foundation for systematic and long-term selection, training, and development of youth football. Furthermore, communication is identified as a key priority. In the context of the rapid development of digital platforms, spreading the image of the tournament not only enhances brand value but also contributes to fostering sportsmanship, motivating the younger generation to nurture their passion and aspirations. This is not just an innovation in organizational format but also a way for the image of Nghe An's youth football to reach a wider audience.
Another important direction is to continue expanding the social mobilization efforts. Effectively mobilizing resources from businesses, organizations, and sponsors will facilitate the improvement of professional quality, facilities, and the scale of the tournament. This is not only about providing resources but also about the shared responsibility of the entire society towards caring for, educating, and developing the younger generation.
In its long-term development strategy, the tournament will be more closely linked with the education system, grassroots sports movements, and professional youth football training, not only within the province but also nationwide. From this platform, talented players will be discovered promptly and developed in a professional training environment, contributing to the supply of quality human resources for national youth football. This will create an ecosystem for discovering and nurturing young players, where dreams are sown on the pitch.
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The aspiration to elevate the tournament is also the aspiration to continue spreading the spirit of sportsmanship widely in the community, especially among the younger generation. We believe that the greatest value that the Nghe An Newspaper and Radio & Television Cup Youth Football Tournament brings is not only in the exciting matches and titles won, but also in fostering willpower, solidarity, and a desire to excel in young children. Each season of the tournament is another opportunity to rekindle the passion for football in localities, schools, and families.
That flame has been nurtured by the rich traditions of Nghe An – a place always known for its courageous fighting spirit and unwavering determination. Within that tradition, the fiery spirit of Song Lam is always present, the spirit of resilient people, full of willpower and a burning desire to excel. This is the source of strength that has built the brand of Nghe An football and needs to be passed on to younger generations. Therefore, elevating today's tournament is not only about improving the quality of a sporting event, but also about contributing to nurturing, preserving, and spreading the positive values that have become the pride of Nghe An.
To ensure that the dream of football continues to be written for each generation of young athletes, so that we can once again witness and name talented players on the map of achievements in Vietnamese sports, this is also the realization of the will and aspirations of the people of Nghe An, and of the Nghe An Newspaper and Radio & Television Cup Youth and Children's Football Tournament.
