Children join a football training session at the Bình Dương-based Sora Gardens Links. Photo courtesy of JICA

BÌNH DƯƠNG — The Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA) and J.League Kawasaki Frontale football club launched a sports facility centre in Bình Dương, aiming to improve training and education facilities for children. 

The centre, which includes an indoor football pitch and educational sites, is one of a series of investments and activities in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Việt Nam-Japan diplomatic ties.

The J.League football club and Becamex Tokyu, a joint venture of the Japanese Tokyu Group and local Becamex Investment and Development Corporation, hope to train aspiring young players in the new facility. 

It’s the first football school that a J.League team has debuted in Việt Nam, promoting Japanese football among local clubs.

JICA said it has been cooperating with J.League, the premier football championship in Japan, in bringing the Japanese standard football training system to Việt Nam through J.League teams as part of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Becamex Bình Dương is one of the leading teams in the football championship V.League 1, winning four national titles from 2007 to 2015.

In 2013, the Vietnam-Japan Soccer Star Sports Centre (VJSS) was founded to provide football and education courses for 5,000 children in Hà Nội, HCM City, Vũng Tàu and Đà Nẵng.

The VJSS centre, which is run by Vietnamese, Japanese and international coaches, aims to get children closer to football, and physical training, while contributing to the development of youth football in the country. — VNS