HA NOI — A campaign For Viet Nam Football Future will be kicked off this year with the aim nurturing young Vietnamese football players.

Yamaha Motor Company will help Viet Nam with courses for players, from U6 to U13, with world-class training under professional coaches from Viet Nam and Japan, led by expert consultant Masakuni Yamamoto.

The first phrase of the course will be organised in one month, starting on June 2 in Ha Noi, when coaches will select 20 players each one of three groups: U6, U8 and U10. The groups will then take part in training sessions both on and off the pitch.

The course, scheduled to be started in one month, are considered a trial run. If they are successful, the second stage of the campaign would be continued into 2013, and possibly expand to Da Nang and HCM City.

If the first phases are go as expected, a training academy will be established in 2015.

"We hope to help Viet Nam bring up a generation of talent they can be proud of, just like the work we have been doing in Japan," said Masaki Asano, General Manager of Yamaha.

"There is no shortcut to success in football. We have to train footballers from when they are small, starting with the basics," said Yamamoto, who was a member of the Japanese National Team from 1980-81.

Yamamoto was also the coach of the Japanese team that placed in the final round of the World Youth Football Championship in 1997, as well as the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

"During the course we will help young players develop their skills. The experience we have gained in Japan will be applied in Viet Nam. The first steps are always the most difficult, but later it becomes more easy," said Yamamoto, a producer of junior football programmes and a football commentator of NHK.

Apart from the campaign, Yamaha also plans to sponsor football facilities to 50 primary schools in Ha Noi.

The company has been a main sponsor of the National Children's Football Championships since 2007. It is expected to support the National Students' Football Championship for the next three years, beginning this year. — VNS