Thái Sơn Nam won the National Futsal HDBank Championship last year. The National Futsal HDBank Championship 2021 is scheduled to kick off on March 28 in Đắk Lắk Province. VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Anh

HCM CITY  The National Futsal HDBank Championship 2021 is scheduled to kick off on Sunday in Buôn Ma Thuột City in Đắk Lắk Province.

At a press meeting on Wednesday, the organisers of the tournament, Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF) and Radio the Voice of Việt Nam (VOV), said the tournament would be divided into two stages with the participation of 12 teams.

The first stage of qualifying rounds will take place from March 28 to April 5 at Đắk Lắk gymnasium in Buôn Ma Thuột City.

Audiences will see competition among six teams Cao Bằng, Hưng Gia Khang Đắk Lắk, Tân Hiệp Hưng, Quảng Nam, Việt Football and Luxury Hạ Long. They will compete in a round robin format that will decide the four teams to join the second stage.

The second stage will include participation of the four winners in the first stage and the top six teams from last year’s National Futsal HDBank Championships, which include Thái Sơn Nam, Sahako, Sanvinest Sanatech Khánh Hòa, Zetbit Sài Gòn FC, Hiếu Hoa Đà Nẵng, and Thái Sơn Bắc.

The first leg of the second stage will be held at Đắk Lắk gymnasium from April 4 to April 30, while the second leg is expected to take place from July 5 to 26 in Cần Thơ city.

The winner of the tournament will represent Việt Nam at the AFC Futsal Championships 2021.

Last year, Thái Sơn Nam took the trophy, and the runner-up was Sanvinest Sanatech Khánh Hòa.

The organiser has also announced that the National Futsal HDBank Cup will kick off in the Central Highlands province of Lâm Đồng from September 5 to 16.

Both tournaments are sponsored by HDBank. The winner of the National Futsal HDBank Championship will receive a VNĐ500 million (US$21,400) prize.

This is the fifth time that VFF has worked with VOV to organise the tournament.

Trần Anh Tú, head of the organising board, said at the press meeting that the tournament is expected to offer exciting, highly professional matches. VNS