Expectations for a high-quality playing field for students.

High expectations for the International Student Talent Competition

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the THACO Cup 2025 Student Football Tournament on March 16th, journalist Nguyen Ngoc Toan, Editor-in-Chief of Thanh Nien Newspaper and Head of the Organizing Committee, emphasized: "In less than a week, the winning team, along with the host team from Ton Duc Thang University, will embark on a new journey at the regional level, with a completely different standard: the 2025 International Student Football Tournament - THACO Cup. The Organizing Committee hopes that the two teams representing Vietnamese students will continue to showcase a positive image of our youth to international friends."

Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan, President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), the organization providing professional support to Thanh Nien Newspaper in the International Student Football Tournament, said: "Football is a popular sport with a very high level of connectivity. The first International Student Football Tournament is extremely meaningful, helping domestic and international universities to exchange, learn, support each other, and promote the development of student football and school football. The VFF highly appreciates the efforts and dedication of Thanh Nien Newspaper and its partners in creating this meaningful tournament."

Expert Doan Minh Xuong, Head of the School Football Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Football Federation, shared: "After the success of organizing the tournament three times domestically, the International Student Football Tournament is a new step forward in terms of professionalism, meeting the needs of a large number of fans, as many people want to know how the level of Vietnamese student football compares to other countries in the region. This also encourages and promotes the school football movement."

Giải bóng đá sinh viên quốc tế 2025 cúp THACO: Sân chơi đẳng cấp cho sinh viên - Ảnh 1. — The champion of the THACO Cup 2025, Thanh Hoa University of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is one of two Vietnamese teams participating in the international TNSV competition.

For the first edition, the guest list, consisting of 4 regional teams and 2 domestic teams, was appropriate. Hopefully, in future editions, the tournament will include more strong teams, possibly expanding to include teams from across the continent, such as Japan and South Korea. Regarding domestic teams, in my opinion, besides the champion, there should also be a team selected from the best players participating in the finals to build a strong squad."

Suitable format, attractive prizes.

The six teams participating in the 2025 THACO Cup International Student Football Tournament have been determined: Ton Duc Thang University (host), Thanh Hoa University of Culture, Sports and Tourism (winner of the 2025 THACO Cup Student Football Tournament), University of Life (Cambodia), University of Laos, University of Malaysia, and Nanyang Technological University (Singapore).

According to the regulations, six teams are drawn into two groups, playing a round-robin format to determine the top two teams from each group to advance to the semi-finals. The match duration is also suitable for university students, at 40 minutes per half. In the semi-finals, third-place match, and final, if the score is tied after regular time, a penalty shootout will be held to determine the winner. This is considered a suitable format for university football.

In its inaugural edition, with the support of THACO Group and other partners, the organizing committee covered all accommodation, meals, and travel expenses for the participating teams. Furthermore, the prize structure was attractive, with $6,000 for the champion (including the championship trophy and gold medal), $4,000 for the runner-up (including the silver medal), $2,000 for the third-place team (including the bronze medal), and $1,500 for the fair play award. In addition, the organizing committee awarded several supplementary prizes such as Top Scorer ($500), Best Player ($500), Best Goalkeeper ($500), Best Player of the Match ($100/match), and Best Referee Team ($500).

Regarding eligibility, the organizers also stipulated that players must be students currently studying at universities in the participating countries; aged between 18 and 25 (born between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2006).

High expectations for the International Student Talent Competition

Suitable format, attractive prizes.

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