HÀ NỘI — Cần Thơ will host the 11th Thanh Niên Newspaper International U21 Football Tournament this year, according to Lê Văn Tâm, deputy chairman of Cần Thơ City’s People’s Committee.

“The city has upgraded its stadium to be ready to organise the event,” said Tâm.

Cần Thơ previously held the event in 2014. Its stadium welcomed more than 50,000 watchers for the final match of that year’s tournament.

According to the Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF), three foreign teams have confirmed their participation in the tourney, namely defending champions Japan’s Yokohama, the runners-up Thailand and Myanmar.

Việt Nam will send an U18 team and an U21 team to Cần Thơ.

The U18 team will be guided by coach Hoàng Anh Tuấn. They will partake in the qualifying round of the AFC U19 Championship against Laos, China’s Macau and Chinese Taipei before competing in Cần Thơ’s event.

Meanwhile, the U21 team will be chosen via the upcoming qualifying round and final round of the National U21 Football Championship. Many young talents, who competed in the final round of FIFA U20 World Cup held in South Korea in May such as Phan Thanh Hậu, Đinh Thanh Bình, Lương Hoàng Nam, Trần Thanh Sơn and Trần Thành, are expected to be named in the team.

The event is scheduled to kick off on December 12-22. Five teams will compete in a round robin format. The best two teams will compete in the final. — VNS