VFF establishes a brand new youth team for Vietnam to compete in the Asian tournament.

The Vietnam U16 futsal squad is about to be created to get ready for participation in the Asian Youth Games.

Recently, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced the list of 12 sports delegations confirmed to join the futsal event. Notably, Vietnam, along with two other Southeast Asian teams—Thailand and Myanmar—will send their U16 futsal teams to this competition.

Recognizing the significance of this tournament, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has planned since the beginning of the year to establish a U16 futsal national team. The team will soon gather and train at the Thai Son Nam Futsal Arena in Ho Chi Minh City as they prepare for their journey to Bahrain. The roster is expected to be announced by the end of August.

Currently in Vietnam, only two clubs—Thai Son Nam Ho Chi Minh City and Thai Son Bac—have systematically trained players born in 2009 or later. Therefore, it is highly likely that the core of the national U16 futsal team will be drawn from these two clubs, promising a strong and well-balanced lineup.

The 12 teams competing in futsal at the Asian Youth Games will be divided into four groups, playing in a round-robin format to select the top two teams from each group for the quarterfinals. Two Asian futsal powerhouses, Iran and Japan, are considered the strongest contenders for the gold medal.

The 2025 Asian Youth Games, scheduled from October 22 to 31 in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, will feature 21 sports, including futsal. According to the rules, futsal is open only to players born in 2009 or later, making it an U16 event. This is a valuable opportunity for young Asian futsal talents to showcase their abilities.

The Asian Youth Games are seen as a version of the ASIAD specifically for promising young athletes. Although this is the third time the event is being held, the last occurrence was 12 years ago, in 2013. The OCA had planned to organize it in 2017 and 2021, but it was postponed for various reasons.