The 'willing to spend' football team in the Southwest

New recruits in the Southwest

The Southwest region qualifying round of the 3rd Vietnam Youth Student Football Tournament - 2025 THACO Cup (TNSV THACO Cup 2025) has 8 participating teams, divided into 2 groups to compete, then find the only team to participate in the final round.

Vinh Long University of Technical Education is one of the two new recruits of this year's season (along with Dong Thap University). Although participating for the first time, this team has invested carefully, even in terms of "willingness to spend", it is not inferior to any veteran representative.

Vinh Long University of Technical Education is one of the two "newbie" teams in the qualifying round of the Southwest region of the 3rd Vietnam Youth Student Football Tournament - 2025 THACO Cup

Regarding personnel, many months ago, the school organized a school-wide student football tournament to select athletes. Most of the talented students participated because they wanted to have the opportunity to step into the professional playing field. Therefore, the tournament had 52 teams competing, lasting for 2 months with the participation of hundreds of students. However, with strict screening criteria, only 67 "strikers" caught the attention of the coaching board.

Next, the 67 candidates had to undergo many tests on physical strength, technique, tactics and coordination. The selection was objective, so the team was very diverse in terms of composition, including many faculties, majors and ages. However, it can be said that the 25 selected players from Vinh Long University of Technical Education are all "war horses", promising to be a "youngest" team but not easily "bullied".

The selection of athletes of Vinh Long University of Technical Education is carefully carried out through many rounds with many different criteria.

More notably, the "war horses" received great attention from the Party Committee and the School Board, creating a favorable environment to improve their football skills. Each player was given the best training conditions from AZ. From early November 2024 until now, every week, the team has 3-4 days of practice at the stadium at the Vinh Long Province Sports Training and Competition Center. Thanks to many friendly matches with the talented and young teams of this province, the players are increasingly accustomed to high-intensity competition.

Mr. Le Thanh Quang Duc, President of the Student Association of Vinh Long University of Technical Education (team coaching board) said that up to now, the investment for the team has reached 100 million VND. This is the first time the school has "played big" to let students participate in a football tournament. Part of the reason is that the school's leaders are passionate about the "king sport", and part is because they highly appreciate the football tournament organized by Thanh Nien Newspaper.

Win or lose, but play fair.

In that spirit, the team came to the TNSV THACO Cup 2025 with a rather relaxed mentality. This year, Vinh Long University of Technical Education is in Group B with FPT University Can Tho, Tay Do University and the current regional champion, Tra Vinh University.

The team's coaching staff assessed that this was a fairly "easy" group. Apart from the "annoying" playing style of Tra Vinh University, the home team could completely play fairly and equally with the other two schools. The possibility of winning one of the two leading positions in this group is entirely possible.

The team received special investment from the Party Committee and school board.

However, the team is also cautious, saying that there are many surprises in sports, and it is difficult to predict anything. Because they are not used to the competition atmosphere, the coaching staff predicts that the "goalkeeper" will have a lot of work to do. The school is somewhat reassured about this issue when the team mobilizes 3 goalkeepers, notably player Huynh Cao Tan Loi (21 years old) who has experience participating in the national U17 and U21 tournaments. As for the attack, the team will build a "fire-spreading" strategy, which is the spirit of solidarity and unity, not depending on any star.

Southwestern region qualifying round schedule

For the first time participating in the tournament, Vinh Long University of Technical Education does not focus on achievements, but students must meet the requirements of competitive spirit. "Winning or losing is not as important as playing well, playing cleanly, and bringing a good image of the school to the tournament. No matter the result, the players must show the spirit, courage, and youthfulness of students in the spirit of integration, connection, and exchange with other schools. Because, even if you lose on the field but win in the hearts of the fans, it is also very proud", Mr. Le Thanh Quang Duc shared.

The qualifying round of the 3rd Vietnam Youth Student Football Tournament - 2025 THACO Cup has 66 teams divided into 6 groups competing according to geographical areas from December 28, 2024 to January 18, 2025. Specifically, including the northern region (from December 30, 2024 - January 10, 2025 at Thuy Loi University Stadium); the Central Coast region (from January 6 - January 12, 2025 at Military Zone 5 Stadium - Da Nang); the South Central and Central Highlands regions (January 10 - January 18, 2025 at Nha Trang University Stadium); the Southeast region (January 4 - January 12, 2025 at Bau Thanh Stadium, Ba Ria - Vung Tau); Southwestern region (January 8 - January 17, 2025 at Can Tho Stadium) and Ho Chi Minh City region (December 28, 2024 - January 15, 2025 at Ton Duc Thang University Stadium) to select 11 teams along with the host team Ton Duc Thang University to compete in the final round of the tournament from March 1 - March 16, 2025.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/doi-bong-chiu-choi-o-tay-nam-bo-185241230122607442.htm