Dong Thap University builds 11-player football field, field surface worth billions

New playground in school

Compared to other schools that have participated in many student sports competitions in the Mekong Delta region over the years such as Can Tho University, An Giang University or Tra Vinh University, Dong Thap University's football team has only been known since the beginning of this year.

The team participated in the qualifying round of the Vietnam Youth Student Football Tournament season 3 with the modest goal of learning and in fact won all 3 matches with a score of 0-0. Associate Professor - Dr. Ho Van Thong, the school's Principal, a very enthusiastic person about sports, always gave the team maximum support.

Trường ĐH Đồng Tháp làm sân bóng 11 người, mặt sân trị giá tiền tỉ- Ảnh 1. — Dong Thap University football field has been completed beautifully.

Mr. Ho Van Thong said: "We realize that in order for the football movement to develop well and the team to be long-term, we must first have an 11-a-side football field. A standard football field on the school campus will be a good condition for students to practice well and nurture their passion. We already have a futsal field, a training house and a swimming pool, but the Board of Directors of Dong Thap University unanimously decided to rearrange the premises to reserve land to build an additional artificial football field with dimensions of 96m x 62m. This is a sufficient area, meeting FIFA and VFF standards to be able to organize training and compete in 11-a-side tournaments."

Trường ĐH Đồng Tháp làm sân bóng 11 người, mặt sân trị giá tiền tỉ- Ảnh 2. — The players have started training at the new stadium.

In just a few months after the groundbreaking in March, the football field was completed beautifully. Next, there must be a grandstand. Mr. Ho Van Thong affirmed: "Once the field surface is built, the remaining area, although limited, we are determined to build more grandstands and functional rooms to ensure enough necessary facilities for a football field. We have cleared the central parking area to take a part of the land to build the main grandstand with several hundred seats. The spaces on both sides, normally used as a parking lot, but when needed to organize a tournament, will also have steps to serve the enjoyment needs of students."

Trường ĐH Đồng Tháp làm sân bóng 11 người, mặt sân trị giá tiền tỉ- Ảnh 3. — Mr. Ho Van Thong, Principal of Dong Thap University (2nd from left) and Mr.
Ngo Be, Chairman of Dong Thap Province Football Federation (3rd from left) and the school's stadium construction progress survey

Urgent completion early July

When we arrived at the school in early June, the artificial turf of the field was finished and the stands were basically complete, only VIP seats had to be installed and the fence steps and front nets had to be removed so as not to affect the view when watching football.

Some other items are under urgent construction such as changing rooms, organizing room, referee room, medical room to be completed in early July. Not stopping there, Dong Thap University also decided to "play big" by equipping an electronic score screen, installing additional lights to ensure some brightness if having to compete in bad weather or when it gets dark quickly.

Trường ĐH Đồng Tháp làm sân bóng 11 người, mặt sân trị giá tiền tỉ- Ảnh 4. — A corner of the stands has seats installed.

Mr. Ho Van Thong added: "The demand for watching football among students in the school is very high, not to mention Dong Thap is a cradle of football in the West, the audience is very enthusiastic and will come to watch in large numbers if there is a well-organized and famous tournament. Therefore, in the long term, we will calculate to build more makeshift stands behind the goal, to welcome more viewers. In the immediate future, we will test organizing the Dong Thap University Student Football Tournament in mid-July, inviting some teams from schools in the region and Ho Chi Minh City to participate. From there, we will learn from experience and make good adjustments so that we can ask for long-term companionship in organizing the qualifying rounds of the Vietnam Youth Student Football Tournament organized by Thanh Nien Newspaper".

Trường ĐH Đồng Tháp làm sân bóng 11 người, mặt sân trị giá tiền tỉ- Ảnh 5. — Dong Thap University players are practicing.

In recent days, Dong Thap University Stadium has been bustling with a high density of training. Although no tournaments have been officially organized, to test the durability and bounce of the field as well as the drainage system, the school's Board of Directors has not only allowed the school's football team but also gifted teams, students and grassroots teams of the province to practice.

"We initially invested nearly 5 billion VND for the field and some auxiliary works with the hope of meeting all expectations for a football field that can host tournaments for a long time. The Dong Thap Provincial Football Federation has always followed, cheered and encouraged us. The Federation believes that with such an 11-player football field, school sports will have a chance to fly high."