Nguyễn Văn Phú, general secretary of the Việt Nam Football Federation makes a speech at the kick off ceremony of the Student Football Tournament – Thaco Cup 2025. – VNS Photo Thu Ngân

HCM CITY – Some 67 football teams from universities and colleges nationwide will compete in the third annual Student Football Tournament – Thaco Cup 2025, which kicked off in HCM City on Tuesday.

Lasting until March, the tournament will have have six teams based on six different regions including Northern region, Coastal Central region, South Central and Central Highlands, Southeast, Southwest and HCM City.

Subsequently, 11 teams advancing from the qualifying round, along with host team Tôn Đức Thắng University, will compete in the final round of the tournament from March 1 to March 16, 2024. They will compete following the format of current U19 and U21 competitions.

Nguyễn Văn Phú, general secretary of the Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF), and co-leader of the tournament organising committee said: "We are delighted that in 2025, the THACO Cup 2025 has attracted 67 teams to participate, including 66 teams competing in the qualifying round, an increase of three teams compared to the 2024 season.”

"In this season, some new adjustments in the tournament regulations promise to deliver exciting and engaging competitions for fans. VFF believes that these competitions will provide a great opportunity to foster the development of university sports in general and university football in particular.”

This year's tournament introduces several new provisions in the regulations. Each team is allowed to register a maximum of 23 players and a minimum of 18 players, with at least two goalkeepers. In addition, each team can have a maximum of three players who have participated in national U19 and U21 competitions from 2022 until now. A team is required to have a maximum of five foreign student players who have not competed in national tournaments organised by the Vietnam Football Federation.

After THACO Cup 2025's final round, the International Youth Football Tournament 2025 - THACO Cup will be organised with technical support from the Vietnam Football Federation.

The tournament will take place from March 24 to April 1, 2025, at Tôn Đức Thắng University in HCM City with six participating teams.

Among them, four teams are student teams from universities in Southeast Asian countries and two are Vietnamese student teams who are the champion team of Student Football Tournament – Thaco Cup 2025 and the host team from Tôn Đức Thắng University.

The six teams will be divided into two groups for a round-robin format to determine points and rankings.

The matches will take place from March 24 to April 1, 2025.

The first and second-placed teams from each group will compete in the semi-finals, with the winners advancing to the final and the losing teams playing for third place.

The prizes for the champion team include a cup, medals, a commemorative plaque, and a prize of US$6,000; the second-placed team will receive a commemorative plaque and a prize of $4,000; the third-placed team will receive a commemorative plaque and a prize of $2,000.– VNS