The Bia Saigon Seven-A-Side National Championship, or Bia Saigon Cup 2024, kicked off on May 8. This is the third year that SABECO's Bia Saigon has been the main sponsor of the competition to promote the development of seven-a-side football in Vietnam.
The 2024 Bia Saigon Cup, Vietnam's premier league, will be held across three regions, the northern region in Hanoi (Hanoi Premier League - Season 11), the southern region in Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces (Saigon Premier League - Season 6), and the central Coast and Highland Region in Dak Lak (Daklak Premier League - Season 2).
The eight strongest teams from these regional rounds will compete for the national championship in August.
The tournament is considered the elite competition of its type in Vietnam and has been instrumental in promoting the game over the last decade. The Bia Saigon Cup has long been considered an exciting platform for Vietnamese football talent, allowing them to showcase their skills and passion for the beautiful game.
“Sports is always an important part of SABECO and Bia Saigon's sustainable development strategies to bring the best to Vietnam," said Dinh Nguyen Thi Huong, SABECO's director of corporate communications. "In addition to supporting high-performance sports, we are also carrying out programmes to promote healthy and active lifestyles in the community."
"Accompanying Vietfootball for the past two years and witnessing the positive impacts of the tournament, we see the importance of developing professional tournaments and finding and developing sports talent in the community. Bia Saigon will continue to implement more initiatives to bring positive changes across the country,” Huong said.
2024 is also the 11th year of developing seven-a-side football. In a joint effort to boost the international recognition of seven-a-side football, VietFootball and Bia Saigon launched the International Seven-A-Side Football Championship, which attracted teams from Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and provided a platform for good-spirited, cross-border competition.
In August 2023, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) also issued official seven-a-side football rules to recognise and promote the development of this sport.
Support and cooperation from the Vietnam Sports Administration, the VFF, departments of culture, sports and tourism, local communities, and all sponsors, especially Bia Saigon, are essential in sustaining VietFootball's mission to spread the love for the game and physical exercise in Vietnam.
Pham Ngoc Tuan, general director of VietFootball, said, "Despite a difficult economic context, we have still received the support of SABECO's Bia Saigon brand for the 2024 season as part of its committment to community responsibility. We believe we can bring seven-a-side football in Vietnam to new heights."
"We would like to express our sincere thanks to Bia Saigon, the General Department of Physical Education and Sports, the VFF, and other sponsors, media partners, clubs, players, and spectators who have been by our side over the past 11 years," added Tuan.
By Nguyen Huong, VIR