Vietnam’s football to bolster international cooperation hinh anh 1Members of the VFF attend a meeting of FIFA (Photo: VFF)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s football will continue to step up international cooperation this year after achievements obtained in 2021, viewing it as a long-term development strategy.

Amid complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), as a dynamic and active member, has always proactively taken part in all events arranged by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the Asia Football Confederation and the Asian Football Federation (AFF), as well as frequently updated schedule of games and international events to devise suitable plans and make thorough preparations.

Due attention has been paid to the development of Vietnamese football. In 2021, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc met FIFA President Gianni Infantino in September while in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly’s 76th session; and in Geneva in November during his visit to Switzerland.

At the meetings, Infantino spoke highly of Vietnam’s sport development policies, including for football, and underlined the country’s significant contributions to the football development in the continent.

FIFA will continue close cooperation with the VFF, he affirmed.

Vietnam’s football to bolster international cooperation hinh anh 2The national men's football team (Photo: VNA)

In addition to current cooperation agreements with the football bodies of the Republic of Korea and Japan, the VFF has reached out to its counterparts beyond Asia like France, Spain and Argentina via embassies and diplomatic programmes.

The partnerships are hoped to contribute to each nation’s football development, offering chances for young talents to join training sessions and play in countries with optimal football conditions.

Of note, the national U17 squad will be set up and join a training session in Germany under a cooperation programme between the VFF and Bundesliga, the top professional league in the European nation.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the VFF have launched the ‘UEFA Assist’ programme serving women’s football development since June 2021.

The UEFA presented 10,000 EUR (11,300 USD) to the VFF last year for the procurement of new training equipment for the third straight year.

With support from the AFC, the VFF also offered sporting equipment to five flood-hit central provinces last November./.

VNA