The U14 Gia Lai international festival 2026, an initiative by HAGL owner Bau Duc, aims to provide young footballers with crucial competitive experience. Bau Duc shared his motivation for establishing the tournament: "I have been involved in football for over 20 years, but I have never organized a proper youth tournament. This has caused me deep regret and much thought, leading to my decision to organize this international festival. We cannot underestimate youth football, as these players determine the future of national football. If youth football is neglected and not properly trained, Vietnamese football will fade into the past. Therefore, these young players need continuous playing opportunities to develop."

Bau Duc (right) with former Vietnam coach Park Hang-seo at the U14 Gia Lai international festival 2026 draw ceremony, afternoon 16/4 in TP HCM. Photo: Duc Dong

The tournament will take place from 11 to 15/5/2026 at Pleiku stadium and Ham Rong training center, Gia Lai, with the participation of 12 teams. Five domestic teams are from youth training centers: HAGL, PVF, SLNA, Hanoi, and Truong Tuoi Binh Phuoc. The seven international teams are: U14 Malaysia, Jubilo Iwata (Japan), Gangwon FC and Mohyeon (South Korea), Shenzhen (China), Chonburi (Thailand), and Kham Say (Laos).

Teams will compete in three groups in a round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group and the two best third-place teams advancing to the quarterfinals. Teams eliminated from the group stage will compete for 9th to 12th place, while those eliminated in the quarterfinals will compete for 5th to 8th place. Teams reaching the semifinals will vie for the championship title.

The total prize pool for the tournament is 40,000 USD, which is over 1 billion VND. The champion will receive 20,000 USD, the runner-up 10,000 USD, and the third-place team 5,000 USD. An additional 3,000 USD will be awarded for the fair play prize.

Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan, President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), highly praised Bau Duc's initiative to organize the tournament. "The Federation always considers youth football to be the foundation, so tournaments like this provide practical opportunities to improve the players' skills. We will study this tournament model to organize it regularly and nationwide," Mr. Tuan stated at the announcement ceremony.

The group stage draws are as follows:

Group A: HAGL, Binh Phuoc, Jubilo Iwata, Mohyeon

Group B: SLNA, Kham Say, Gangwon FC, Chonburi, Malaysia

Group C: PVF, Hanoi, Shenzhen, Chonburi.

Duc Dong