Reflections on youth football

During the more than five years under coach Park Hang Seo, not everyone remembers that, to achieve those unprecedented feats, clubs, academies, and football centers like HAGL, Hanoi FC, SLNA, Khanh Hoa, PVF, Viettel , etc., had to invest a huge amount of money over nearly a decade.

The image below shows a lunch for the U10 and U12 youth teams of Thang Long Sports Center, Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City, which has also been the training ground for District 5 for over 10 years. This group of players, including the author's son (born in 2012), will participate in the U12 Ho Chi Minh City Finals in three weeks. The meal is even lacking in many nutrients, but that's self-reliance. As Coach Nguyen Thanh Nam said, how much passion is enough if one day you... run out of money to support the children?!

Let me tell you, dear readers, even though this is just a private center founded by a dedicated teacher like Nguyen Thanh Nam more than 10 years ago, the meals like these are still incredibly good compared to many football centers or club-level academies in Vietnam.

As Sports & Culture has reported in previous issues, there are reports that for every 10 billion VND sponsored for SLNA football, 9.5 billion VND goes to the first team, leaving only 0.5 billion VND for the youth teams. But who are the players in SLNA's youth teams, how many people are there, and how much does it cost?! It seems we invest too little in youth football, yet still expect optimal results (high-level football). From coaches to players and even youth managers, there are weaknesses and shortages, not to mention the lack of funding. Vietnamese football doesn't lack talent, but it often suffers from wasted potential, and this is the reason.

A meal for young football players at Thang Long Sports Center, Binh Tan District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: CCKM

The existing mechanisms are already flawed, and even youth training, the backbone of football, faces numerous obstacles and difficulties. Many professional clubs, such as Hai Phong,SHB Da Nang, Binh Duong, and Khanh Hoa, have even disbanded their youth teams. As a result, they all wait for investors and hope to successfully acquire players with money. But where will the money come from?!

Returning to the issue we raised at the beginning of the article: Young talents are the future of football, but how many people work in football without self-interest, but with a genuine passion?! In Ho Chi Minh City, I would like to introduce at least two people: expert Doan Minh Xuong, who has helped generations of players from the Central University of Physical Education and Sports No. 2 (now Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City) advance to professional levels; and Nguyen Thanh Nam, a physical education teacher with a passion for football. In Khanh Hoa, there is Duong Quang Ho; in Da Nang, there are Phan Thanh Hung, Bui Thong Tan…

Nearly 30 private clubs and community football centers will participate in the Ho Chi Minh City U12 Finals, scheduled to take place at the end of June. Prior to this, several teams (15 out of 48 clubs) qualified for the national U11 finals in the Central Highlands, including the Ngoc Hung private football center, led by former national team player Nguyen Thanh Long Giang. Who invests in these centers, such as Ngoc Hung or Thanh Nam? Is it the Ho Chi Minh City Football Federation (HFF)? They are simply professional social organizations.

The establishment of community football centers or private football academies is very good and beneficial for children and especially their parents. However, many of them are still spontaneous, lacking (or not yet having) any direction from local football federations or, at a higher level, the VFF, and perhaps that is one of the reasons why we struggle to achieve consistent success in youth football.

( According to https://thethaovanhoa.vn/su-viec-y-kien-suy-ngam-cung-bong-da-tre-20230606230728457.htm)

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