Futsal

Vietnamese players celebrate their SEA Games gold medal. The team is one of 10 best squad of the world in 2025. — Photos courtesy of VFF

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese Futsal team have two candidates in Futsal Planet's nominations for the JAKO Futsal Awards 2025.

Việt Nam have been nominated for Best Women’s National Team in the World, while coach Nguyễn Đình Hoàng is in contention for Best Women’s National Team Coach.

Futsal Planet is a leading indoor football magazine that has been awarding annual prizes since 2000. Because FIFA does not award separate prizes for futsal, the magazine's system is considered the equivalent of the Ballon d'Or in the five-a-side football sport.

The magazine has announced its nominations for 2025.

In the Best Women’s National Team in the World, Việt Nam are named along with Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Japan, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Thailand. This is the second straight time that Việt Nam have been listed.

Coach Trần Đình Hoàng of Việt Nam (centre) is nominated as Best Women’s National Team Coach.

Hoàng is up against nine candidates for best coach, including Claudia Pons Xandri of Spain, Luis Miguel Jeronimo da Conceicao of Portugal, Silvio Nicolas Noriega of Argentina, Thanatorn Santanaprasit of Thailand and Adil Sayeh of Morocco.

In their outstanding performances in 2025, Việt Nam played 11 official matches, taking eight wins, two draws and one loss.

Hoàng took his squad all the way to the quarter-finals of the Asian championships in China.

In the recent 33rd SEA Games, they won all four matches to take the title for the first time in history. The result also pushed Việt Nam to 11th place in the world ranking.

Việt Nam have not yet won any award from Futsal Planet. Previously, Hồ Văn Ý was nominated in the Best Male Goalkeeper of the World in 2021, but finished in 10th place.

This year's results will be announced on January 7.

The Futsal Awards are prestigious annual honours to recognise excellence in international futsal, encompassing outstanding players, coaches, teams and other contributors to the sport.

These awards celebrate achievements across men's and women's categories, including Best Player, Best Goalkeeper, Best Young Player, Best Coach and Best National Team, with winners determined through votes from a panel of leading international futsal experts.

The awards programme has grown in prominence, gaining recognition from FIFA, which highlights them as a key benchmark for global futsal talent, and has documented nearly 25 years of the sport's evolution through its all-time winners archive. — VNS