The opening ceremony featured cultural and artistic performances linked to the National Tourism Year - Gia Lai 2026, themed “Mountains embrace the blue sea” Traditional Central Highlands gong performances and Bình Định martial arts displays were among the highlights, alongside modern dance performances that energized the stadium atmosphere.
Among those attending were Phạm Anh Tuấn, member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Gia Lai Provincial People’s Committee, and Nguyễn Thị Thanh Lịch, Vice Chairwoman of the Provincial People’s Committee.
Representing the Vietnam Football Federation were Vice President Nguyễn Xuân Vũ and Vietnam national team head coach Kim Sang-sik. Đoàn Nguyên Đức, Chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HAGL), also attended the ceremony.
Speaking at the event, Chairman Phạm Anh Tuấn described the tournament as one of the key activities of the National Tourism Year – Gia Lai 2026, saying it reflected the province’s ambition to strengthen its sporting profile regionally and internationally.
He said the festival also reinforced Gia Lai’s position as a destination capable of hosting major sports and tourism events, while providing young players with opportunities to compete, learn and pursue professional football careers.
The tournament runs from May 11 to May 15 and features 12 teams: LPBank HAGL, Jubilo Iwata of Japan, Trường Tươi Đồng Nai, Eum Seong of South Korea, Sông Lam Nghệ An, Gangwon FC of South Korea, Kham Say of Laos, Malaysia, PVF, Hanoi, Shenzhen of China and Chonburi of Thailand.
Matches are being played at Pleiku Stadium and Hàm Rồng Training Center under a round-robin group format. The top two teams from each group and the two best third-placed teams will progress to the quarter-finals, while the remaining teams will compete in classification matches.
All matches are played on full-size pitches with 30-minute halves. The tournament offers a total prize pool of more than 1 billion VND (about $40,000).