The historic League tournament of Vietnamese football has officially begun.

The Northern U14 Championship 2025/26 started on October 11, played in a two-leg League format like a “mini V-League,” representing a significant step forward for Vietnamese youth football.

The Northern U14 Championship 2025/26, which began on October 11, is organized in a home-and-away two-leg League format, often described as a “mini V-League” for players aged 13–14. This is considered a groundbreaking advancement, laying a sustainable foundation for youth football in Vietnam by allowing young players to compete regularly in a truly professional football environment.

Previously, in youth competitions like the national U13, each team played only 3–9 matches per year. With the new format, this number rises to 17–23 matches, which is 2 to 5 times higher. Continuous “real match” experience helps players accumulate skills, develop tactical understanding, and improve fitness. Many experts believe this addresses the “lack of matches” issue, which has been a key reason why young Vietnamese players lag behind their international peers.

Former Vietnam national team coach Philippe Troussier emphasized that young players need to play at least 35–40 matches annually to develop properly. However, in Vietnam, most players only participate in a few matches and spend the rest of the year training without competition. As a result, many promising talents fade away, such as the U16 Vietnam team that reached the Asian quarterfinals in 2016 but now has only four players remaining in the V-League.

The tournament is organized by the Hanoi Youth Football Training Center (under Hanoi T&T), gathering 8 strong northern teams including Hanoi FC, Viettel, Hanoi Police, PVF, Nam Dinh, Hai Phong, Hoai Duc, Thanh Hoa, and SLNA. Matches take place every Saturday at 2 PM from October 2025 to January 2026, operating under a professional model with player registration, regulations, referees, and a unified schedule.

Although the prize money is modest (10 million VND for the champion), the value of the competition far exceeds material rewards: it offers real match opportunities and immerses players in an authentic football atmosphere. Mr. Adachi, Technical Director of Hanoi FC, shared: “The Northern U14 Championship is the starting point for a year-round competition system for Vietnamese youth football. This is the only path if we want to approach Asian standards.”

From this initial foundation, Vietnamese youth football is gradually transforming into a more systematic and sustainable development phase, offering hope for a generation of players who mature through genuine competitive seasons starting from age 14.