The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) is expected to start talks on a friendly match between the Vietnamese national team and Liverpool as part of the English Premier League side’s summer tour this year. Even though negotiations have yet to begin, it is likely that Liverpool will come to Vietnam and play with the national squad during The Reds’ summer tour of 2019, VFF general secretary Le Hoai Anh confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday. “As Liverpool will do their 2019 summer tour in Asia, VFF and its partners are contacting [the EPL club] to invite them to play in Vietnam,” Anh said. While VFF will lead the negotiations, all expenses to have Liverpool bring their players to Vietnam will be covered by businesses, according to the general secretary. “We have yet to start any direct talks yet but we stand an excellent chance,” Anh said. “If Liverpool accept the invitation, they may come to Vietnam somewhere in the third week of May,” Anh said, adding that the …
Hanoi int’l puppetry festival hoped to entice Vietnamese back to traditional art
With Hanoi hosting an international puppetry festival, it is hoped that more Vietnamese will develop a habit of visiting water puppet theaters to enjoy the centuries-old art form that is loved by foreign tourists but facing disinterest by domestic audience. The 2018 International Puppetry Festival takes place in the Vietnamese capital from October 8 to 15, with participation of the Wallonia-Brussels from Belgium, and troupes from Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, France, and Brazil. Four Vietnamese art units joining the event are the Thang Long Puppetry Theater, the Vietnam Puppetry Theater, the Ho Chi Minh City puppetry art troupe, and the puppetry art troupe of the northern city of Hai Phong. This is the fifth edition of the international festival, held to honor of the traditional Vietnamese art, and to present the value of Vietnamese puppetry and culture to international friends. Vietnam is the birthplace of water puppets, which emerged in the northern rice paddies …