New coach for women volleyballers; Binh Duong to play first division; Win for Vietnamese-American golfer; Giant football rolls through country

As scheduled, the national men’s and women’s volleyball teams will assemble to resume their practice for the Southeast Asian Games in Laos this December.

Augusto will be the foreign coach to lead a national Vietnamese volleyball team.

During the SEA Games Augusto will take over again as coach of the team before continuing his long-term coaching job for Vietnamese youth teams.

Binh Duong to play first division

The junior Binh Duong football team received a VND1.1 billion (US$61,000) cash prize in a ceremony on Saturday for their leap from second division to first.

The U-21 team, which has been coached by Portuguese Rodriguez, will play in the higher First Division beginning next year after winning the Second Division Football Championship.

Both Binh Duong and the U-19 Viettel team won First Division berths for next season.

Win for Vietnamese-American golfer

Vietnamese-American Andrew Hung Pham won the Saigontourist Golf Tournament, which wrapped up on Saturday at the Viet Nam Golf and Country Club in HCM City.

Pham won with the best combined score of 72 strokes.

The tournament also included first, second and third prizes in the men’s handicap division A (0-14), played by golfers whose handicap is from 0 to 14, the men’s handicap division B (15-28), and the ladies’ handicap division.

Organisers handed over VND500 million (US$28,000) to the HCM City Association for Poor Patients.

The annual tournament attracts an average of 152 golfers, most of whom are businesspeople and diplomats.

Giant football rolls through country

A huge football used in a campaign to support the national football team at the SEA Games in December travels to its next destination, Gia Lai, for collecting more signatures from fans.

Last month 5,000 fans signed the six-metre wide, 1.5 tonne ball in An Giang province.

The ball, which began its journey on July 18, will be taken to major football locations like Da Nang, Ha Noi and Hai Phong before being sent to the venues in Laos where the Vietnamese team will play its matches.

The organisers said they have also installed boards at all stadiums for fans to sign to show their support for the team.

“For Viet Nam’s Football Heart” is being organised by the Country Eye Group, an advertising agency, and paint brand Boss made by 4 Oranges, a wholly foreign-owned paint company.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News