Ho Chi Minh City outlines sport strategy

HCM CITY — Nine kinds of sports will be the focus of HCM City's main sports activities under a plan to 2020, according to officials.

Mai Ba Hung, deputy director of the city's Department of Cultural, Sports and Tourism, said the sports include taekwondo, judo, volleyball, athletics, bicycle, table tennis, tennis, badminton and football.

Although these sports are popular, they have not been developed adequately, Hung said.

The city will also focus on enhancing Olympic sports like weight-lifting and gymnastics, as well as athletics, male volleyball, martial arts, tennis and badminton.

In addition, the HCM City Football Club said it would further invest in football, although the club is faced with a shortage of finances.

The department has also asked Thong Nhat Stadium to offer training programmes for young footballers to develop a long-term pool of players for football.

Hung, who is upbeat about the sport, said: "I think city football will see further progress this year."

Other sports like table tennis, cycling and tennis will also receive more funds from various sources.

The city will also work with the sports federation to send athletes abroad for professional training, according to Hung.

Officials said the city was considering plans to build the Rach Chiec Sport Centre and the HCM City Sport Centre, the latter expected to be located near the Phu Tho racetrack.

HCM City is also preparing necessary documents to ask for the right to host the SEA Games in 2015, 2017 or 2019.

For long-term planning, the department will select athletes with the most potential and train them into professional athletes.

The department is also working with many sport centres to invest in other sports with potential, especially beach volleyball.

Sport centres in the city have faced a lack of space for athletes to practice because the land for public activities has become limited, especially in the central districts.

The lack of co-operation among various organisations and agencies has also presented barriers to furthering sports, according to city officials.

The number of city residents who play sports has been increasing, accounting up to 25 per cent of the city's population until October last year, according to city authorities.

In 2010, the city held a total of nearly 800 amateur sport competitions. — VNS

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From Poland with nostalgia

The memories of his homeland and his love for it suffuse the works of
Vietnamese-Polish artist Hoang Ngoc Huu whose works are on display at an
exhibition in HCM City.

"I am happy to have my first ever solo exhibition in my home country," Huu says.

Hoi Tuong (Reminiscence), organised by the Lotus Gallery and HCM City
Exhibition Centre, features 66 oil paintings he created back in Poland.

"Painting is both my soul and expression of love to the motherland and my family there," the 70-year-old artist said.

Many of the works are simply named – Vietnam , Thieu Nu Hue (Hue
Woman) and Le Hoi Hai Ba Trung (Festival Memorising Trung Sisters).

He also pays tribute to his new life in Poland through paintings like Thieu Nu Ba Lan (Polish Woman).

Huu, who was born in Hue , moved to Poland in 1969 to continue his
studies in shipbuilding and went on to marry a local woman.

In 1983, instead of writing a diary, he began to draw to register his nostalgia for his homeland.

His works have been displayed at several solo and group exhibitions in Poland , Germany , Russia , Japan , and China .

The exhibition, at the HCM City Exhibition Centre, 92 Le Thanh Ton street , runs until Jan. 20./.

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Southeast Asia remains football’s backwaters

Thailand’s coach Steve Darby calls on Southeast Asian nations to improve their football infrastructure for developments

Long considered a sick man in Asia, Southeast Asian football has been unable to get rid of the tag despite making great efforts in the past decade.

No country from the region has ever won a title at the Asian level, and Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia seem highly unlikely to change that any time soon.

Peter Butler – a former midfielder at English club West Ham who has coaching experience in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia -- said Southeast Asia is the “little boy” of Asia.

“They need better infrastructure and qualified managers.

“Japan and South Korea have pulled far ahead of them.”

Thailand’s coach Steve Darby also stressed the vital role of infrastructure in developing football.

Alfred Riedl, Vietnam’s former coach and currently head of the Indonesian team, said youth training plays the most important role but many nations in the region have failed to do it.

“They are not patient to wait for 10 years for a generation of young players to mature,” he added. “The period is longer than the office terms of football officials who need instant results.”

Cambodia’s Australian-born coach Scott O’Donnell pointed to another aspect of the problem: “Southeast Asian teams seem to focus on competing with one another and not on longer-term plans to catch up with the world.”

Angry TV football fans to meet Kplus

HA NOI – Kplus, a subsidiary of VTV and French station Canal Plus, plans to meet the Vietnamese Football Fans Club next week and explain the cost of its football coverage to subscribers.

Kplus, (known as K+) won a US$10 million contract for three-years exclusive rights to broadcast the world's most popular football leagues.

Last year, it announced a monthly fee of VND250,000 (US$13), which covers the English Premier League, Spain's La Liga and Italy's Serie A.

The figure was four times the previous average monthly VND70,000 fee that K+ charged subscribers.

The high cost has prevented millions of viewers from seeing the English Premiership on local cable television services on Sundays.

As usual, subscribers of the popular VTV cable and VTC pay a monthly fee of only VND65,000 ($2.60) and VND90,000 ($4.70).

The fan club has collected 140,000 signatures from members across the nation protesting at Kplus prices.

Last year, a meeting was held to solve the issue between Kplus, Viet Nam Television (VTV), Viet Nam Multi-Media Corporation (VTC), HCM City Television and Ha Noi Television, but nothing was decided.

"We want Kplus to provide a reasonable price. The new price is too high," said Nguyen Duc Trung, chairman of Viet Nam Football Fans Club.

"We plan to collect one million signatures from Vietnamese fans objecting to the charges," he said. – VNS

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Brazilian flair helps Alves to second Golden Boot

On target: Huynh Kesley Alves won the Golden Boot award after a successful season during which he scored 23 goals in all tournaments. — VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI — Brazilian-born striker Huynh Kesley Alves formerly of V-League club Binh Duong won the nation's Golden Boot award for the highest Vietnamese goal scorer of the year, the prize organising committee told Viet Nam News yesterday.

Kesley, who now plays for First Division Xuan Thanh-Sai Gon, scored 23 total goals in the national football championship, V-League, the Asian Football Confederation Cup and the National Cup to rank first with 74 points. He won the award with 17 goals in 2009.

This year Kelsey beats off runner-up Nguyen Quang Hai of Khanh Hoa, who scored 14 goals with 41 points, while Binh Duong's Nguyen Anh Duc stands in third place.

"This is the second time we have organised a ceremony to honour the top scorer in the national championship. We will make it an annual event for footballers from now on," said Nguyen Minh Hung, vice chairman of the HCM City Journalists Association's Sport Reporters Club.

In 1997, former striker Le Huynh Duc, who now coaches Da Nang, was presented with a top scorer award, but the event was subsequently suspended for 13 years.

Alves, who was granted Vietnamese citizenship in 2008, scored 14 of Binh Duong's 48 goals in the national V-League premier football championship last season. He also netted the ball seven times in the Asian Football Confederation's Champions League and two more times in the National Cup.

Goals scored in the V-League, National Cup, Super Cup and First-Division are taken into account, as are goals scored at official matches organised by FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation and the ASEAN Football Federation, as well as during international friendly matches from January to December.

In 2005, the 31-year-old striker won top scorer and best foreign player in the V-League with 21 goals for Binh Duong. In 2009, he was the second Brazilian-born footballer called up by the national team to a training session for the Asian Cup qualifiers.

The organising committee for the Golden Boot award said an award ceremony will be held at HCM City's Palace Hotel. Aside from the trophy, Alves will walk away with a cash-prize of VND20 million (US$1,000). — VNS

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Messi wins World Player of Year award again

Lionel Messi of Argentina, FIFA World Player of the Year holds his FIFA Ballon d'Or 2010 trophy during the FIFA Ballon d'Or 2010 soccer awards ceremony in Zurich, January 10, 2011

Photo: Reuters

Argentina's Lionel Messi was named World Player of the Year for the second time in a row on Monday, surprisingly beating his Barcelona team mates Andres Iniesta and Xavi.

Iniesta and Xavi had been favorites after helping Spain win the World Cup last year while Messi had failed to score a goal or produce his best form at the tournament in South Africa.

"It was just good to be here with my team mates," said Messi, who looked as surprised as anyone by the result which was announced by Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.

"I'd like to share this with my team mates, without whom I would not be here, and...with all the Argentines."

It was the first time the award had been made since the decision to unite FIFA's World Player of the Year with France Football magazine's older Ballon D'Or.

Messi won both awards last season.

The only Spanish winner of either prize was Luis Suarez who took the Ballon D'Or in 1960.

Votes were cast by the coaches and captains of national teams and by selected journalists.

Messi produced some scintillating performances for Barcelona last year, but failed to inspire Argentina who were knocked out in the World Cup quarterfinals.

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Ronaldinho signs for Flamengo, says club

Photo: Reuters

Former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho has signed a four-year contract with Flamengo in a bid to revive his flagging career and win a place in Brazil's 2014 World Cup squad.

"Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, or simply Ronaldinho Gaucho, will wear the Flamengo shirt," said Flamengo on their website (www.flamengo.com.br).

Ronaldinho was last week given permission by AC Milan to seek a move home to Brazil after he failed to hold down his place with the Serie A team.

On Saturday, the Italian club's vice-president Adriano Galliani said the two clubs had reached an agreement.

The 30-year-old, who had also been chased by Gremio, the club where he was raised, and Palmeiras, was overlooked by Brazil squad for the World Cup last year but is still hoping to make the squad in 2014.

"I can imagine these supporters in a full stadium," said Ronaldinho. "The supporters can expect the best from him. I came back to Brazil and to play with Flamengo to give them this.

"I also hope that my performances can put me back in the Brazilian team again."

Flamengo claim to be Brazil's most popular club with 25 million supporters.

Ronaldinho reached his peak when he helped Brazil win the 2002 World Cup and then during a five-year spell with Barcelona, where he was twice voted FIFA's World Player of the Year.

Party lifestyle

But after a disappointing performance at the 2006 World Cup, his partying lifestyle and lack of fitness began to show and he joined AC Milan in 2008.

Italy saw only flashes of his astonishing skills and he also fell out of favor with Brazil coach Dunga who, after giving him plenty of opportunities, including a place in the 2008 Olympic Games team, left him out of the 2010 World Cup squad.

He was recalled by new coach Mano Menezes for November's friendly with Argentina in Doha, winning his 93rd cap in a 1-0 defeat.

Ronaldinho, who initially left Brazil in 2001 to join Paris St Germain, joins a growing army of top Brazilian players who have returned home, attracted by a strong lower currency.

Others include Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Deco -- who was raised in Brazil although he played for Portugal -- and Fred.

The signing of Ronaldinho is likely to cause another wave of huge expectation at Flamengo, one of Brazil's most volatile clubs.

Flamengo have won five Brazilian championship titles, most recently in 2009, but finished only two points above the relegation zone last season.

Their attempts to add to the only title in the Libertadores Cup, South America's equivalent of the Champions League, have produced a series of spectacular failures.

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