Football

Organisers conduct the National Cup draw in Hà Nội on February 22. Photos of VPF

HÀ NỘI — The winner of the National Cup will receive VNĐ2 billion (US$83,700), double the bonus of the second place team, according to the organisers at a draw on Wednesday in Hà Nội.

The second place and two third place teams will walk away with VNĐ1 billion and VNĐ400 million, respectively.

The tournament will see the participation of 25 clubs, 14 from the V.League 1 and 11 from V.League 2, competing in a knock-out format.

The Cup's first round will be held on April 1 with 12 matches. Among them, Nam Định and Hải Phòng will be the key match of two V.League 1 sides.

In their two meetings last season, Hải Phòng won both matches, 2-1 and 1-0, respectively.

In the April 1 match, Nam Định will have a home advantage where they will have the strong encouragement of their well-known crazy supporters at Thiên Trường Stadium.

Another interesting match will be between Khánh Hoà and Hà Nội Police, both new faces of the V.League 1. It will be their first meeting this season.

In the premier league, both have four points after one win, one draw and two defeats but Hà Nội Police are at eighth place while Khánh Hoà is in 11th due to the goal difference.

Other matches are between Viettel vs Bình Thuận, Huế vs Becamex Bình Dương, Sông Lam Nghệ An vs Quảng Nam, Long An vs Bình Phước, HCM City vs Bà Rịa Vũng Tàu; Phù Đổng vs Hoà Bình and Phố Hiến vs SHB Đà Nẵng.

Four V.League 1 top teams, including reigning champions Hà Nội FC and three other clubs who received lucky ballots from the organisers, got first round byes and will start play in the second round. 

A draw for the Gold Star V.League 2 was also conducted on Wednesday.

A draw for the V,League 2 is organised for 11 clubs competing for a VNĐ2 billion bonus

Eleven clubs will compete in a two-period competition starting from April 1 until August.

In the first period, teams will play in round robin format. In the second period, five top clubs will be grouped in Pot A. They will take part in another round robin. The one with highest points will take the championship trophy and be promoted to the V.League 1 next season.

The six bottom teams will be in Pot B. They will also compete in a round robin competition for ranking. The worst one will be relegated to the Second Division league.

To increase the quality of matches, teams are allowed to register a naturalised player and an overseas Vietnamese.

The bonus for the V.League 2 is also VNĐ2 billion for the champions. 

The two runners-up will earn VNĐ1 billion and VNĐ500 million, respectively.

"The V.League 2 and National Cup are two important tournaments playing key roles in Việt Nam football development," said Nguyễn Minh Ngọc, general director of the Việt Nam Professional Football Company.

"From these events, players, especially the young ones, will sharpen their technique, show their talents and find their opportunities to a higher league to develop their career. This season, bonuses for both tournaments are doubled and their competitive formats will be strong pushes for clubs and players to play beautiful and fair games," he said.

All matches of both two tournaments will be aired live on FPT Play's platforms and social network. VNS