Opening Ceremony of the Vietnam Workers and State Employees Football Tournament 2024 at Ton Duc Thang University

On September 27, 2024, the 2nd Vietnam Workers and State Employees Football Tournament 2024 was officially opened at the stadium of Ton Duc Thang University (TDTU).

Attending the ceremony, on behalf of the Organizing Committee, there was the presence of Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu - Vice Chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) - Head of the Steering Committee of the Tournament; Mr. Nguyen Manh Kien - Deputy Head of the Propaganda Department of the VGCL, Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee of the Tournament; Mr. Tran Anh Tu - Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), Deputy Head of the Steering Committee of the Tournament.

In addition, there was the presence of Dr. Vu Anh Duc - Chairman of the Council of TDTU; Dr. Tran Trong Dao - President of TDTU. Mr. Ngo Minh Hai - Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union; Mr. Vo Khac Thai - Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Federation of Labour; Mr. Nguyen Nam Nhan - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City; representatives of accompanying units, enterprises, media units; 16 participating football teams; and more than 3,000 fans at the Ho Chi Minh City competition cluster.

The tournament was jointly organized by the Propaganda Department of the VGCL, the Propaganda Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Federation of Labour and Tuoi Tre Newspaper under the direction of the VGCL, to celebrate the 95th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam Trade Union, contributing to promoting the movement of physical exercise and sports as well as improving the cultural and spiritual life of state employees in particular and the whole society in general.

The Vietnam Workers and State Employees Football Tournament 2024 will kick off in September 2024, divided into 4 regional qualifying clusters from North to South. Each cluster is expected to have 16 teams, divided into 4 groups, and each group has 4 teams. The teams will compete in a round robin for rankings. At the end of the qualifying round, the 4 winners and 4 runners-up will qualify for the quarterfinals, semi-finals and finals. The 4 teams that qualify for the regional qualifying semi-finals will be the ones that will participate in the national finals.

The Ho Chi Minh City regional qualifying round will take place at two stadiums of Ton Duc Thang University (Groups A, B) and People’s Police University (Groups C, D). In which, the matches from the qualifying round to the final will be held at TDTU Stadium.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Ngo Duy Hieu - Vice Chairman of the VGCL - Head of the Tournament Steering Committee, affirmed that this is a useful and meaningful playground for state employees. Journalist Tran Xuan Toan - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Tuoi Tre Newspaper, Head of the Tournament Organizing Committee also emphasized: “The tournament not only creates a meaningful playground, we also hope that through the tournament, we will create a spirit of solidarity in sports, helping people connect more in labour and production”.

At the ceremony, the Organizing Committee also presented 2.1 billion VND in donations from readers of Tuoi Tre newspaper and sponsors to the families of union members and trade unions in the Northern provinces affected by storm No. 3. The first matches of the qualifying round took place right after the Opening Ceremony, with enthusiastic cheers from fans.

Possessing a 2-star FIFA standard artificial turf field and a grandstand with a capacity of up to 7,000 people, TDTU Stadium has the same quality as a professional club’s football field, and is a regular venue for large-scale sporting events such as the 2nd Vietnam Youth Student Football Tournament 2024 - THACO Cup, the 2nd National Student 7-a-side Football Tournament - 2023; chosen as the training ground for the Vietnam U-22 men’s football team to prepare for the 30th SEA Games taking place in the Philippines in December 2019. With a classy stadium and a large number of on-site fans, the qualifying round in Ho Chi Minh City taking place at TDTU Stadium promises to bring a vibrant atmosphere and exciting matches to the Tournament.