Opening of the First International Student Football Tournament 2025 at Ton Duc Thang University
On March 22, 2025, the opening ceremony of the first International Student Football Tournament took place at Ton Duc Thang University (TDTU) Stadium.
Attending the ceremony were Ms. Nguyen Pham Duy Trang - Secretary of the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, Chairwoman of the Central Council of the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneer Organization; Mr. Tran Trong Dung - Vice President of the Vietnam Journalists Association; Mr. Nguyen Hong Minh - Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Sports Administration, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Mr. Le Thang Loi - Representative of the Ministry of Education and Training, Director of the Southern Center for Education and Training Development; Mr. Tran Anh Tu - Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF); and journalist Nguyen Ngoc Toan - Editor-in-Chief of Thanh Nien Newspaper, Head of the Organizing Committee.
Representatives from Ho Chi Minh City leadership were Ms. Tran Thi Dieu Thuy - Vice Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, and Mr. Nguyen Nam Nhan - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports.
On the international guest side, there was the presence of Mr. Bun Khunny - Consul of the Kingdom of Cambodia in Ho Chi Minh City; Mr. Phonesy Bounmixay - Consul General of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic in Ho Chi Minh City; Dr. Khamtanh Somvong - Counselor for Education and Culture, Embassy of Laos in Vietnam; and representatives of the leaders from the universities whose teams participated in the tournament.
Representing TDTU, the host institution, were Dr. Vu Anh Duc - Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the University Council; and Dr. Vo Hoang Duy - Vice President. The event also welcomed many delegates, guests, representatives of sponsors and partners, as well as a large number of enthusiastic supporters who attended to watch and cheer.
The tournament was organized by Thanh Nien Newspaper for the first time, with professional support from the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), TDTU was the host. The tournament had the participation of 6 teams including Thanh Hoa University of Culture, Sports and Tourism (champion of the 2025 Vietnam Youth Student Football Tournament), Life University (Cambodia), the National University of Laos (NUOL), University of Malaya, Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), and TDTU.
Immediately after the opening ceremony, the match between the home team, TDTU, and Life University (Cambodia) took place.
Following the successful organization of the 3rd season of the Vietnam Youth Student Football Tournament – THACO Cup in the first weeks of March 2025, and with its well-invested, internationally standardized sports facilities - including a FIFA-standard football stadium with a capacity of more than 7,000 seats - TDTU, having hosted many large-scale sports events and tournaments, continues to be chosen as the host institution to collaborate with Thanh Nien Newspaper in organizing the First International Student Football Tournament.
Previously, from March 19 to 21, 2025, TDTU was honored to be selected by the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee as the host of the Vietnam Science and Engineering Fair (ViSEF) for high school students in the academic year 2024-2025. The 2025 competition attracted 212 projects from 74 institutions across 62 out of 63 provinces and cities.
At the closing ceremony of the 2025 Vietnam Science and Engineering Fair (ViSEF), on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Training’s leadership, Mr. Pham Ngoc Thuong, Permanent Deputy Minister of Education and Training, acknowledged and highly appreciated TDTU’s coordination, thoughtfulness, dedication, professionalism, and responsibility as a co-host alongside the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training. He praised TDTU for providing a modern and convenient environment, well-equipped facilities, and meticulous preparation, ensuring that delegations and students could confidently participate in the competition. In particular, he noted that although 2025 marks the 13th edition of the competition, never before has it had such outstanding facilities, dedicated care, and strong involvement from the leadership of the host institution as it does this year at Ton Duc Thang University.
