Nguyen Hoang Group and CV9 community football academy, founded by former captain of Vietnam’s national football team Le Cong Vinh, have launched a cooperation programme to provide professional football training courses for students.

At the signing ceremony held in Ho Chi Minh City on October 3, Vinh said the programme is a dream he has nurtured for a long time, voicing his hope to develop community-based football in Vietnam.

The newly-reached deal is expected to tap into athletic potential of schoolchildren, helping to select and train prominent future players for professional clubs and the national football team, he added.

Deputy Director of HCM City’s Department of Education and Training Bui Thi Diem Thu said the municipal educational sector has added numerous sports, including football, into the school curriculum.

Under the programme, more than 40,000 students from 40 educational establishments in 15 provinces and cities of the Nguyen Hoang Group will receive football lessons during their physical education classes, with training programmes designed by experts of the CV9 academy.

The CV9 academy has invited Marshall Soper, former Australian national player, to work as a technical advisor, along with other Vietnamese and foreign coaches and players, including Nguyen Thi Kim Hong, from Vietnam’s national female football team.

VNA