Vietnam to host ASEAN Futsal Championship 2017

NDO/VNA—The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) announced on October 31 that Vietnam will host one of the two ASEAN futsal championships in 2017.

Vietnam's futsal team (in red) have experienced a successful 2016.
Vietnam's futsal team (in red) have experienced a successful 2016.

The tournament will be held in Ho Chi Minh City in November of next year. It is also considered the preliminaries for the Asian Futsal Championship 2018.

Meanwhile, another tournament is slated for January 2017, to replace the ASEAN Futsal Championship 2016, which was cancelled as no suitable host country was found.

The 2016 championship was initially scheduled to take place from October 31 to November 8 in Thailand. However, due to the passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand decided to cancel all entertainment activities for one year to mourn its beloved king.

After Thailand’s withdrawal, the AFF suggested Indonesia and Singapore as potential hosts, but both countries declined for different reasons.

In September, Vietnam’s futsal team made history by earning a ticket to the round of 16 at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016 in its first-ever appearance at the event and won the Fair Play award.

Users of FIFA.com voted the goal by Nguyen Minh Tri in the September 11 match between Vietnam and Guatemala as the second-best of the tournament.

Earlier, Tri’s goal was selected as one of the tournament’s top ten by the International Football Federation (FIFA).