Football

Nanyang Technological University team is ready for the first International Student Football Tournament 2025 -- THACO Cup which is being played March 22-30 in HCM City. —  Photo courtesy of NTU

HCM CITY — Teams from overseas have vowed to bring many surprises and plenty of competition to the first International Student Football Tournament 2025 -- THACO Cup, which is being played March 22-30 in HCM City.

In addition to two teams from the hosts, the tournament features four representatives from school football backgrounds in Southeast Asia.

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is one of the leading sides in the local student league, after the team under coach Saswadimata Bin Dasuki took the 2024 Singapore University Games title, marking their sixth championship win.

The NTU football team is strongly supported in terms of skills, following the model of powerful school football teams of Japan and South Korea. It is said that their professionalism and methodology in training and competition will be a strong force of the tournament.

Also having good training back ups and a well-developed sporting legacy, the Malaysian University team is a candidate for the championship.

Their technical playing style is based on short and fast passing, with players quick to adapt. Malaysian players for long time have been well known for their agility and skilfulness and their students will definitely be looking to bring this into the tournament, creating huge challenges to all their rivals.

The team from Laos consists players from four universities of National University of Laos, Champasak, Souphanouvong, and Savannakhet.

Lao school football has always been worth watching for the players' impressive physical form, excellent flexibility, and simple and dedicated playing style.

Although they are to arrive in Việt Nam as a joint team, which may not have enough time for them to practise together as other participants, the Lao University side owns the best individuals of four local strong university clubs that make up the powerful line-up.

Coming from Cambodia, Life University is an unknown quantity.

The familiar philosophy of technical skills and give-and-go passing style of Cambodian football has long been instilled in the student players. Their advantage along with good facilities and preparation, Life University is determined to prove their ability.

On the Việt Nam side, the two representatives are the winners of the 2025 Việt Nam Student Football Tournament which will close on March 16 and is being hosted by Tôn Đức Thắng University.

Many Vietnamese players expressed their excitement to have an opportunity to play against Southeast Asian rivals for the first time.

At the THACO Cup, which will be under technical support from the Việt Nam Football Federation, six teams will be divided into two groups for a round-robin format.

Two strongest ones will advance to the knock-out stage, with the champions due to walk away with a trophy and US$6,000.

The second and third-placed teams will bag $4,000 and $2,000, respectively. —  VNS