The vote for the 16th Vietnam Golden Ball Awards is now entering the last period with the shortlist of 14 most prominent footballers such as Minh Phuong, Thanh luong, Tan Truong, Kim Hong, Kieu Trinh, in the four categories, male and female footballers, young footballer and foreign footballer.
Vietnam Export Import Commercial Joint - Stock Bank, or Eximbank has been the major sponsor supporting the 2011 V-League season and many other amateur football championships in HCMC. This year, Eximbank also decides to assist Saigon Liberation Press with the 16th Vietnam Golden Ball Awards to record and praise the most deserving footballers in 2010.
The fund signing ceremony between the representatives of Eximbank and Effective Events Corporation, EEC, also took place during the same event, that is, the press conference on the May 5th morning. This is the company which coordinated with Saigon Liberation Press to hold the vote and official event for the 16th Vietnam Golden Ball Awards.
According to the experts’ assessments, it is not very surprising that four male midfielders and one gold-keeper reach the final round of the nomination for the 16th Vietnam Golden Ball Awards. However, some expected strikers such as Cong Vinh, Quang Hai, Anh Duc have been unstable or hurt and cannot compete with their colleagues who play in the other positions.
Trong Hoang of Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA), Minh Phuong of SHB Da Nang, Vu Phong of Binh Duong F.C. and Tan Truong, the goal-keeper of Dong Thap F.C. and the best male footballer in 2009, Pham Thanh Luong are the potential candidates for this year’s title.
Two nominees Thanh Trung from SLNA and Nguyen Van Quyet from Ha Noi T&T will compete for “The Outstanding Young Footballer of the Year” title.
Meanwhile, the nomination of the Golden Ball Awards for female footballers is quite balancing in quality and quantity. There are three footballers from Hanoi, namely Ngoc Anh, Minh Nguyet and Nguyen Thi Muon will be in the competition with Kim Hong and Kieu Trinh from HCMC for the awards.
One more thing, the prize for the outstanding foreign footballer of the year is unpredictable, because that will be a keen competition between Samson Kayode, a Nigerian striker who has played with a firm manner for Dong Thap Football Club up to this time and Gaston Merlo, a striker from Argentina who is the No.1 scorer for SHB Da Nang.
We are all waiting for the important time, 9 a.m. on May 12th, 2011. This year, the honor ceremony will be held at Ben Thanh Theater. At that time, all the secrets will be revealed and the most significant titles will be officially announced.