Candidates participating in the 2026 football talent selection exam at Tu Do Stadium.

Inverse proportion

In 2022, Hue welcomed 1,000 candidates to the Football Talent Recruitment Day. At that time, this number made experts and many other centers envious. In 2024 and 2025, the number of young candidates from across the country coming to Hue for the recruitment was even more impressive, reaching over 1,500 and over 2,500 respectively.

However, in the 2026 recruitment period (May 22-25), only 1,346 candidates came to Tu Do Stadium to apply.

According to the author's research, this decrease in "player numbers" stems from several reasons: The selection period coincided with the time when students were busy preparing for the 10th grade high school entrance exam, making it impossible for many families to send their children to participate; a home match of Hue Football Club coincided with the selection period, forcing the youth training department to give up the field for the first team to play, leading to the selection being delayed and falling into the aforementioned timeframe.

Furthermore, due to Hue Football Club's relegation to the Second Division, applying to Hue is now only a "second" or even "third" option for most applicants. Previously, they applied to other larger centers with first teams competing in the V-League or First Division, offering strong resources and guaranteeing clear professional opportunities for graduates. With more secure and attractive job prospects, Hue becoming a "backup option" this year is understandable.

"Although the number of candidates participating in the selection process and passing the final round was less than expected, the quality was very good, if not better than last year in some age groups, especially U11 and U13," said Mr. Duong Cong Quoc, Head of the Professional Department of the Hue Football Team.

Many candidates were assessed as being of higher quality than last year.

Belief in the near future

Following the U13 Hue team that won the national championship in 2006 with names like Minh Hoang, Vo Ly, Tran Thanh…, more recently, the generation of Vi Dinh Thuong, Nguyen Luong Tuan Khai… were called up to the national U17 and U19 teams. Then came quality strikers like Duong Anh Vu, Nguyen Dang Khoa, Hoang Quang Dung… in the national First and Second Divisions… Most recently, striker Pham Minh Cuong (U17 Hue) and the U17 Vietnam team secured a ticket to the 2026 U17 World Cup, which has partly proven the quality of Hue's youth football training academy.

Saying these things isn't meant to make Hue football complacent or accept its current situation. Through the Youth Football Training Development Plan for the period 2025-2030, with several notable points such as: establishing 10 training satellite centers across the city; recruiting 500-1,000 amateur players annually; selecting and providing intensive training to approximately 200 players by 2030; contributing players to the U-teams and the national team… it's clear that this isn't simply a plan to develop young talent, but rather Hue is aiming to build a closed, professional training model that can rival the leading training academies in Vietnam today.

Currently, Hue Football Club is on a journey to achieve its goal of promotion to the First Division immediately after the end of the 2026 National Second Division season. If this is achieved, it will be the foundation for the team from Tu Do Stadium to participate in the V-League in the 2028-2029 season. And then, what fans will talk about is not just the ranking on the leaderboard, but also the story of Hue - the place that discovers, nurtures, and trains Vietnamese football talents…

Han Dang

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/the-thao/bong-da-hue-niem-tin-vao-tuong-lai-gan-166119.html