Wednesday, August 26, 1998
Earning Its Stripes
Despite Having No
Professional Leagues, Soccer-Crazed Vietnam Takes On Tiger Cup, the Championship of
Southeast Asia
By TINI TRAN, Times Staff Writer
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Wednesday, August 26, 1998 Earning Its Stripes |
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 ANOIIf there is a national religion here in this Communist state, it might well be soccer. And die-hard fans are in the throes of ecstasy as opening ceremonies begin today for the Tiger Cup, the biennial two-week soccer championship for Southeast Asian countries. T-shirts and sports banners are flying out of stores. Businesses near the 20,000-capacity stadiums in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi where the games will be played are reporting boom times. "People have soccer fever," said sports commentator Trinh Long Vu of Vietnam Television. "If Vietnam beats Laos [in the opening match], thousands of people will take to the streets. You'll see. Everybody is crazy about football here." Despite all this interest, Vietnam has no professional soccer leagues; the national team is chosen from ranking amateurs. Vietnamese officials have pledged ticket revenues toward developing domestic soccer. Among the sport's fans are Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, who visited Vietnam's national players at their training center over the weekend and told them in a pep talk: "The gains of the Vietnamese team will be the gains of this country." Vietnam had only two months' notice to organize the eight-country event after turmoil in Indonesia and Malaysia scrapped plans to hold the tournament in those countries. Eager to prove to its regional neighbors that it can handle its first large-scale sporting event, Vietnam has been |