Seven Vietnamese teams – Navibank Saigon, Khatoco Khanh Hoa, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Dong Thap Rubber, Megastar Nam Dinh, HCM City FC, and SQC Binh Dinh – will be joined by a club from the Republic of Korea’s Chungang University.
They have been divided into two groups with Groups A comprising Navibank Sai Gon, SQC Binh Dinh, Khatoco Khanh Hoa, and Rubber Corporation Dong Thap, and Group B the rest.
Two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
The winner will get the trophy and a cash prize of 250 million VND (13,800 USD). The runners-up will get 150 million VND and the third-place team 100 million VND.
Defending champions Becamex Binh Duong and last year’s runners–up Dong Tam Long An are noble absentees this year. Both refused to play because they competed in a tournament last month./.