The tournament, scheduled from May 11 to 15, will feature 12 teams, including five Vietnamese sides, LPBank HAGL, PVF, Sông Lam Nghệ An, Hà Nội and Trường Tươi Đồng Nai, and seven international teams from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, China, Thailand and Laos.
Organised as part of activities supporting the National Tourism Year - Gia Lai 2026, the event reflects HAGL’s long-standing commitment to youth development, despite the club’s senior side struggling for results in the V.League.
The academy’s reputation has been reinforced by its contribution of five players, Trung Kiên, Lý Đức, Nhật Minh, Quốc Cường and Quốc Việt, to Vietnam’s recent U23 successes at the 33rd SEA Games and the AFC U23 Asian Cup.
HAGL has also been a pioneer in exposing young Vietnamese players to international competition. In 2014, club president Đoàn Nguyên Đức invited youth teams from AS Roma, Tottenham Hotspur and Japan to compete in a landmark U19 tournament that helped elevate a generation of players and revive domestic interest in football.
More recently, the club hosted the HAGL ENEOS CUP Vietnam-Japan Youth Football Festival in 2023, marking 50 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
At this year’s U14 festival, teams will be divided into three groups, with the top two from each group and the two best third-placed teams advancing to the quarter-finals.
HAGL U14 have been drawn alongside Japan’s Jubilo Iwata, South Korea’s Mohyeon and Trường Tươi Đồng Nai. The squad consists of 23 players born in 2012, newly enrolled at the academy in 2025, who have already reached the quarter-finals of the National U13 Championship and gained experience competing against older opponents in U15 qualifiers.
Head coach Vũ Anh Tuấn said the team has intensified preparations with friendly matches against U15 Ninh Bình and U17 Nutifood.
“The players are new to professional football but are improving steadily through competition,” he said. “This festival offers a valuable opportunity to learn from international opponents, particularly teams from Japan and South Korea.”
HAGL U14 will open their campaign against Jubilo Iwata at Pleiku Stadium at 4:30 p.m. on May 11, before facing Mohyeon on May 12 and Trường Tươi Đồng Nai on May 13 at the Hàm Rồng Training Center.
