Juventus academy in Vietnam turns out 1st batch of players

Established in August 2018, it was the first training academy in Southeast Asia set by one of the most decorated clubs in the history of Italian football together with V. League 1 club HCMC FC.

In August 2019 the academy began training its first batch using the same standards used by Juventus academies around the world.

The second batch started training in March this year.

Director of the academy, Dinh Hong Vinh, said: "After 11 months at the academy, the U12 class is improving quickly in skills and physically. We have 42 players divided into two groups to create competition. The U14 class with 33 players is also progressing very well under the guidance of two Italian experts.

"This summer these players will play in the national U13 and U15 tournaments. The academy is set to receive 30 more promising young students for the next training course."

Vinh, who used to work for Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL)'s youth football, said the training content at the academy is pretty similar to that of another international academy in Vietnam, the HAGL-Arsenal JMG.

The facilities are modern, with training fields, stadiums, accommodation, cafeterias, and gyms of international quality.

HCMC FC president Nguyen Huu Thang said: "It costs a lot of money to run this academy although we cannot reveal the specific number. But it is worth the investment because it represents the future of HCMC FC. Hopefully in four to five years, we will have the first generation of homegrown professional players in our first team."