Section 8

In which the author (bizarrely) narrates the development of Vietnamese football separatism in reverse order.

During the 1930s, the Bac Ky Football Federation (North Region) not only selected the top team from their region to travel to compete in the Dong Duong Championship, they also participated in some very significant competition such as the First-tier Football Championship (1ère Série Pho Duc Mai) and the Second-tier Football Championship - “2ème Série” ; the Trinh Van Bich Printing House (38 Hang Tre street, Hanoi) Cup; and many other football tournaments that were continuously held all year round.

From 1935 to 1939, before World War II broke out, football in the Indochina region developed rapidly. According to the handwritten notes of Mr. Tran Van Quy, as of August 1939, the North region had up to 300 first and second-tier football teams. Many top football teams participated in the Toan Quyen Championship; the Hanoi Ambassador Championship; and the Cup of Western and Local merchants of the nation.

Northern sportsmen gathered to establish their own Vietnamese Round Ball Tournament, hosted by Mr. Tran Van Quy. Chaired by Éclair, the meeting took place on a Sunday evening in April 1934 at 27 Rue Ronbony Street. The Northern Football Federation of Vietnam founded with all the apparatus and executive board as prescribed by the Law of the French government. However, the French refused to recognised it, leading to the merger of the North Football Federation of Vietnam and the Northern Sports General Departments, supervised and operated by the French people's government two years later. As it turned out, through the establishment of the Northern Football Association of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people sounded the warning bell that the French government could not ignore and overlook the spirit of the Northern sports fan community, especially the national culture of the Vietnamese people in general, and of Uncle Ho's compatriots in particular.

In the winter of 1931, during a Manzin Stadium match between Le Duong Number 9 Regiment (REI 9) and Stade Hanoien (all Vietnamese players), a watershed transformative incident occurred. Stade Hanoien players were much more technical and organised; in comparison with Le Duong’s players who were short-tempered and violent. Stade Hanoien were reluctant to give up, so they responded tit-for-tat, resulting in a brawl between players. The match was cancelled. Immediately, the President of Hanoi issued a decree banning of all matches between French and Vietnamese teams. This incident, and the act of "pouring fuel on the fire" by the government personnel, led to the separation of Vietnamese footballers from the French-managed Northern Football Federation. Subsequently, the Vietnamese players established a separate organization to manage and operate the native football teams across the whole of Vietnam.

Section 7

More details about the developing organisation in the North and the beginnings of North-South, intra and international football.

At the Hanoi stadium, Éclair met Lac Long again to compete for the championship title of the Jeanne D'Arc football tournament.

On the Hai Duong football field, Mr. Pham Thong, a significant figure in the East region of Tonkin, organised a tournament for the local clubs, limited to only four Hai Duong club: Junior, Phi Dinh, Aiglon and Fleche d'or.

On Sunday, 3 May 1931, a series of matches ended the season. In Hanoi, at Nha Dau Stadium, two consecutive matches under the title of Sunday Football Ba Mai 1931 covered extensively in Bac Ky the Sports newspaper (No. 26 on May 5, with a detailed report on pages 10 and 11).

Even though not as intense as the on field action, the off-field activity was meaningful.  Some teams opened congresses to elect new leaders and approve the player list for the following season. The spotlight focused on the Hong Bang Football Association, which held its annual general meeting in 1931 to prepare the program for the upcoming football season. After a day of arguing and debating, the Hong Bang Association finally had a new leadership team: President - Vu Dinh Tuong; Vice President - Pham Dinh Ky; Secretary - Vu Trong Hoan; Treasurer - Ha Duc Dinh; Captain - Trinh Phong. Similarly, the Jeunesse Tonkinoise Association also held an Annual General Meeting to strengthen and create new opportunities for the football team.

On Sunday, 17 May 1931, members of the Etincelle Sportive Hanoiennees Football Association, the former Le Dard Association, opened an annual meeting at Mr. Bui Dinh Thu's private house in Luong Yen village (now Thanh Luong ward, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi). Th ecommittee for the 1931 football season was: President - M. Bui Dinh Thu; Vice President - M. Nguyen Huu My; Treasurer - M. Nguyen Vinh Tac; 

Secretaries - M. Nguyen Van Sung, Nguyen Van Tinh, Le Van Tai.

In Thanh Hoa, Cadastre Sport defeated Ecole Sport 1-0.

Even in the remote mountainous region of Lai Chau, the sporting spirit preavailed. The community asked the government to inaugurate a Board of Directors for sports and also to approvethe establishment of Tay Bac football club.

In October 1932, after accepting the invitation from the Southern Association of Football Clubs, the Thanh Nien Bac Ky Football Team, based in Hai Phong, toured the Southern region all month long and had three decent matches on the major stadiums around Saigon.

Responding to the longings of football fans outside North Vietnam, on 11 February 1934, the Victoria Vo Dich Nam ky Football Team visited Hanoi. Having just arrived in Hanoi after arranging food and accommodation, the Victoria football players had their first match in the afternoon of the same day at the Eclair Football Association stadium (Chop Nhoang, Nha Dau Stadium, Wood Factory area at 42 Chuong Duong, Chuong Duong district, Hoan Kiem district today).  Vo Dich Nam ky prepared to face the Northern Championship winner, Eclair owned by Mr. Tran Van Quy and headquartered at 27 Rue Rondony street (now Hang Thung street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi). Although the professional training session of the Southern team was not widely announced, word of mouth assured it was attended by those who love to admire the famous Southern football players as well as their style of play. A full grandstand looked down at the soccer field and admired the skillful ball passages and tackles of Saigon's players.

Preparing for the match to welcome the talented men from the South, Éclair and Stade Hanoien included stars players from Hanoi and the North: Louis, Tam A, Nghiem, Tam B, Duc, Nhuan, Trung, Ty, Vien, Bièng, Thai, Quy, Nhan, Soni, Kinh, Tri Ke, Duc, Gip, Ba, Luu and Thai.

In 1936, on the occasion of the inauguration of the rolling road through Bong Duong, the French government in the area of ​​Dong Duong organised the first Indochina Football Championship. The representative clubs were: Can Tho (Southern region), Hoa Xa Khanh Hoa (Central region), Sud Indofer (Cambodia) and Cotonkin Nam Dinh (Bac Ky). Contonkin won the first Indochina Football Championship, and the people of Nam Dinh joyfully held a celebration party. The competition was organized into a large traditional sports tournament every year after then, with five representative teams: three regions of Vietnam, along with Laos and Cambodia.

Section 6

By the 1930s, Northern football had a new form. Besides the teams born in the 20s, dozens of new football stadiums attached to familiar teams were built: Racing Club Hanoi, Eclair, Noi Chau, Cotonkin Nam Dinh. Such provinces as Son Tay, Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang, Bac Giang, Lang Son, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An also worked together to build football fields and stadiums.

After the beginning of the football season of Tan Mui year (in the second week of April 1931), Ha Noi authorities organised a special first tier championship to contribute to the Jeanne D'Arc festival. The four finalist were: Stade Hanoien, La Lance, ÉClair and Lac Long Sport. Simultaneously, the Hanoi football world opened the second tier Championship, sponsored by businessman Pham Quoc Huan. In the knockout matches on 26 March 1931, Etoile Nam Dinh won 2-0 against Collége Sportif and Soleil won 1-0 against Thanh Long. On Sunday, May 3, when the Pham Quoc Huan Cup was won, Soleil met Etoile Nam Dinh. Football lovers from the South, excitedly pulled up to Hanoi among dozens of passenger buses.

The Hanoi fans generated a heightened football atmosphere leading up to the matches for the student championship in 1930-1931. The championship final between Albert Sarraut's team and the Guardian School produced a result of 3-0 to Albert Sarraut's team. Thousands of Hanoi spectators came to the sporting ground of A. Sarraut High School (the area of ​​Ba Dinh Sports Club, Hoang Van Thu - Hoang Dieu today) to watch the match.

The new Year of the Goat football season included first and second tier championships, organized for audiences who love sports in Hanoi. A student football tournament was also organised. In Hai Duong, the Union Sportive Haiduong invited Lac Long Sport Hanoi to compete in the opening match. On Sunday, 8 September 8, 1931, Hai Duong suffered from heavy downpours and the football pitch was flooded. This field was originally agricultural land which judge Bui Dinh Tinh and football fans agreed to transform into a soccer field. Although it hads the shape of a football field, many lumpy rocks and bricks remained that unfortunately made many football players reluctant to enter the field. Despite this, Mr. Bui Dinh Tinh organised for the opening match of the tournament to be held here and an exciting atmosphere was created. 

That day, the Union Hai Duong team wore crimson shirts and black shorts, while the Lac Long Sport team came down from Hanoi, wearing yellow shirts with red stripes, white shorts and blue socks. M.Trong, an associate of Jeunesse Tonkinoise Hai Phong, was invited to referee this match. The home team lost 1-2.

In Hai Phong, La Jeunesse Tonkinoise held a fairly large sports festival (Fete Sportive) on Song Lap side on May 10, 1931. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the football community gathered in large numbers to compete in the Port City tournament.

On April 15, many other Northern football matches took place at Hai Phong, Hanoi, Hai Duong, Phu Tho, Bac Ninh, Thanh Hoa,... Notably, USAGA club came to Phu Tho Stadium to compete for the Pho Duc Mai Cup against the home team, S.R.M. Phu Tho. That day was truly a day of great physical activity thanks to the hard work and care of Mr. Nguyen Quy Toan, former principal of Hanoi Physical Education School (EDEP). In the end, USAGA Hanoi had a very peaceful and fun time playing and beating Phu Tho 2-1.