The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), working with the Cần Thơ Football Federation, local service centres and primary schools, opened coaching sessions at three more clubs in the Magic Moves programme on 26 October. Known in Vietnamese as Những bước chân nhiệm màu, the 2026 programme introduces girls aged 6 to 9 to football with support from UEFA and the AFC. With two clubs already launched, Cần Thơ now has five, the first step in rolling out the model, according to the VFF, Dân trí, Báo Văn Hóa and Thanh Niên.
The first five clubs
The VFF lists the five clubs as:
- Cái Khế Primary School
- Ninh Kiều ward general services centre
- Bình Thủy Primary School (main campus)
- Bình Thủy Primary School (branch 3)
- Thới Lai commune general services centre (Thới Lai Primary School)
The 26 October openings were attended by Lưu Quang Điện Biên, who heads the VFF's grassroots football, training and member associations department, Nguyễn Hồng Phúc, chief of office at the Cần Thơ federation, and instructors Huỳnh Việt Nam and Đỗ Thị Ngọc Châm, coach of Vietnam's U13 women's development squad. Thanh Niên describes Châm as a former women's national team player.
The VFF handed the clubs match balls, cones, bibs and training kit. The children received souvenir balls, key rings, logo pens and the Magic Moves handbook, a guide for instructors that uses the story of the Snail Fairy (Nàng Tiên Ốc), about a shy girl who overcomes her hesitation to play football, alongside basic age-appropriate drills.
Timeline
| Date | Step | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Oct | VFF launches the football programme for girls aged 6 to 9 under the 2024-2027 UEFA and AFC project | Dân trí |
| 23-25 Oct | Community football instructor course in Cần Thơ; 32 trainees complete it | VFF, Báo Văn Hóa, Thanh Niên |
| Before 26 Oct | First two clubs open at Cái Khế Primary School and the Ninh Kiều services centre | VFF, Dân trí, Báo Văn Hóa |
| 26 Oct | Three more clubs open at Bình Thủy Primary School's two campuses and in Thới Lai | VFF, Dân trí, Báo Văn Hóa |
Thanh Niên reports that before the course ended, trainees ran sessions with girls aged 6 to 9 from Cái Khế Primary School, opening with the Snail Fairy story before moving on to movement games, running drills, shooting and ball control. Instructors Huỳnh Việt Nam and Đỗ Thị Ngọc Châm praised the trainees' serious and proactive approach in theory, group discussion and on-pitch practice.
Why it matters for Vietnamese women's football
Điện Biên said developing women's football from a young age is one of the VFF's priorities, and that training instructors and running sessions in schools, clubs and communities is key to building a long-term base for the women's game in Vietnam.
The schools show the gap the programme is trying to fill. Bình Thủy principal Trần Thị Kim Quyên said her school had run a football club for years with community funding, but it mainly attracted boys and previously had just one girl taking part. Thới Lai principal Ngô Ngọc Lý said football builds fitness, discipline and team spirit, and that his school will provide facilities and staff and reach out to parents to encourage girls to join in after class.
According to Báo Văn Hóa, the sessions focus on enjoyment, safety and movement skills rather than competitive results.
What's next
The newly trained instructors will now apply what they learned in sessions at the clubs and act as the core of grassroots women's football in the area, the VFF says. At the close of the course, Điện Biên said he hoped they would carry the programme's spirit forward alongside the VFF, Thanh Niên reported.
From these first five clubs, the VFF hopes to expand the model to other provinces through closer cooperation with UEFA, FIFA and the AFC. The UEFA and AFC-supported women's football project runs from 2024 to 2027. More domestic stories are in Vietnam football news.