Excited before the ball rolls

(Baonghean.vn) - The headquarters of Nghe An Newspaper on the afternoon of June 9, 2014, the space was filled with sunshine and laughter. The faces were radiant with joy. They were the heads of delegations, the grassroots football coaches, the core members of the physical education and sports movement of 21 districts and cities in the whole province gathered here.

Especially the presence of the children - the young players, representing thousands of teenagers and children from all over Nghe An province to attend the 18th Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth - Children Football Tournament. All are looking forward to an exciting and successful season.

Comrade Pham Thi Hong Toan - Provincial Party Committee member, Editor-in-Chief, Head of the Organizing Committee chaired the press conference.

One day before the opening ceremony of the Youth and Children's Football Tournament for the Nghe An Newspaper Cup, the Organizing Committee was working at full capacity. On the morning of June 9, personnel work was also carried out seriously and urgently. The profiles of nearly 600 players of 19 children's teams and 6 youth teams were also compiled and checked according to the regulations and rules of the tournament. The implementation of personnel work aimed to publicize and make transparent the number of athletes participating in the competition as well as clearly identify the age groups in the tournament. Accordingly, no team of athletes violated the regulations.

Delegates attending the press conference

Attending the Press Conference were representatives of the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department, leaders of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Song Lam Football Joint Stock Company, Song Lam Nghe An Football Club, sponsors and many central and local journalists and reporters stationed in the area.

The Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament was first held in 1997. After 17 times of organizing the tournament, it has gathered many outstanding individuals for the grassroots football development movement. The quality of the tournament has been increasingly improved and has become an indispensable activity for teenagers and children every summer. The success and development of the tournament each year has had very important contributions from agencies, departments, branches, localities, organizations and businesses in society. In terms of communication, the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament has received support from central and local press agencies. Thanks to that, the tournament has become a bright spot in the country in the physical education and sports movement for teenagers and children.

The press conference became lively with many opinions of delegates about attending. In particular, journalist Hoang Hao - Investment Newspaper raised the issue: this year's tournament has only 6 youth teams participating in the tournament. This is a disadvantage for many children of the age group in the localities. Agreeing with the issue raised by journalist Hoang Hao, journalist Tran Duy Ngoan - Member of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Journalists Association, Chairman of the Nghe An Journalists Association, suggested: Along with the efforts of Nghe An Newspaper, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Song Lam Nghe An Football Club - members of the Organizing Committee, districts and localities also need to be proactive in finding sources of sponsorship from businesses and benefactors. The Chairman of the Nghe An Journalists Association also said that it is necessary to carry out socialization work more extensively, only then will the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth-Child Football Tournament be more successful.

Mr. Tran Duy Ngoan speaking at the press conference

In addition to the opinions of reporters and journalists, there were also a number of issues raised by the Heads of Delegations and Coaches of the participating localities. These were issues related to determining the age of the teams, monitoring and supervising athletes during the match, and arranging the tournament time.

Speaking at the press conference, Mr. Nguyen Hong Thanh - General Director of Song Lam Nghe An Joint Stock Company, Chairman of Song Lam Nghe An Football Club affirmed: the remarkable development of the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament is beyond doubt and debate. According to the Chairman of Song Lam Nghe An Football Club, the success of the annual tournament not only creates opportunities for Nghe An's youth and children to participate in their own football festival but also creates opportunities for experts and scouts of Song Lam Club to search, discover and nurture football talents for the province. In fact, through 17 times of organization, the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament has added many quality players to the province's sports and physical training sector, contributing to enriching the football tradition of Nghe An.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Thanh speaking at the press conference

Chairing the Press Conference, Comrade Pham Thi Hong Toan - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper, Head of the Organizing Committee of the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament informed the delegates, athletes and coaches that since the 18th season in 2014, the Nghe An Newspaper Cup Youth Football Tournament will not only have 2 coordinating units, Nghe An Newspaper and the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, but will also have the participation of Song Lam Nghe An Football Joint Stock Company in the Organizing Committee. Comrade Pham Thi Hong Toan also affirmed: Song Lam Nghe An Football Joint Stock Company and Song Lam Nghe An Football Club have accompanied the Youth Football Tournament for many years. The tournament has received support and assistance in terms of facilities, competition grounds and referees from Song Lam Nghe An Football Club in recent years. Therefore, the tournament will be more complete and successful thanks to the participation of Song Lam Nghe An Football Club as a co-organizer. This new feature will create professionalism for the competition activities of the teams, and at the same time, the Organizing Committee will promptly discover and nurture the province's football talents.

The Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper, Head of the Organizing Committee, also answered questions and clarified many concerns raised by delegates and coaches of the teams. That is the unification of the time and location of the annual tournament, creating the most suitable conditions for the teams to participate in the tournament. On that basis, districts and localities have plans to select players and arrange time for teenagers and children to have the opportunity to participate in the exciting football festival in the summer. Comrade Pham Thi Hong Toan also acknowledged and highly appreciated the efforts of local authorities, grassroots coaching staff, and members of youth and children's football teams in promoting the sports movement from the grassroots. In addition, she hoped that units and businesses would pay attention and accompany the tournament so that the dreams of Nghe An children would always be lit.

Before the end of the press conference, the Organizing Committee conducted the group drawing ceremony. Accordingly, 19 children's teams were divided into 6 groups, each group selected a seeded team, in addition to group A with 4 teams, the remaining groups each had 3 teams. For 6 youth teams, they were divided into 2 groups, each group had 3 teams.

The atmosphere after the press conference became even more exciting with the presence of head coach Nguyen Huu Thang and player Le Cong Vinh - Song Lam Nghe An Football Club, participating as guests in the exchange program with coaches and young players participating in this tournament. Opening the exchange program, coach Nguyen Huu Thang shared: All teenagers and children competing in this year's tournament have the opportunity to be selected by Song Lam Nghe An Football Club. "The important thing is that the children go out on the field and compete, contributing with all they have" - ​​coach Nguyen Huu Thang said. Answering questions from some coaches of the teams about tactics and techniques when competing, coach Nguyen Huu Thang said that the teams should not be too focused on the competition results and put pressure on the children. The important thing is to encourage the children to go out on the field with the best spirit. That is what they need most at this time.

Journalists participating in the draw

At the meeting, it seemed that all the admiring eyes of the children were directed towards the Captain, national player Le Cong Vinh. For many children - the young players of the football teams, this was the first time they had directly met and interacted with Le Cong Vinh, the football star of Nghe An in particular and Vietnam in general. Everyone also felt the closeness and intimacy of the player who used to play in Portugal and Japan. Le Cong Vinh told the children that: Thanks to the Youth Football Tournament - Nghe An Newspaper Cup, he was discovered and had the opportunity to train to become a professional player. Striker Le Cong Vinh said that all children can become players of the Song Lam Nghe An football team.

To make that dream come true, you must have passion. The captain of the Song Lam Nghe An football team also revealed that when he was first recruited to the team, he was the worst player on the team. Knowing his weaknesses, he practiced every day, every hour. And that hard work did not disappoint the coaching staff of the Song Lam Nghe An Club. Answering questions from some children about the path to his "shorts and shirt" career, player Le Cong Vinh affirmed: "Before you want to become a good player, you must be a good person". He also said that you must study well to have cultural capital, to always have appropriate behavior. This will help you have more luggage when entering life and sticking with your football career.

Coach Huu Thang and player Cong Vinh took souvenir photos with the young players participating in the tournament.

In a lively afternoon, the young athletes took souvenir photos with coach Nguyen Huu Thang and striker Le Cong Vinh. The presence of the two important guests made the young players' spirits even higher. In their innocent eyes, the excitement of being on the field and contributing was overflowing.

PV Group