1st YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL event ends successfully The winner is the host country's Vietnam Da Nang team

Over the three days from August 4 to 6, 2008, the 1st YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL tournament organized under the auspices of the Vietnam Football Federation and supported by Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and the Yamaha Motor group company Yamaha Motor Vietnam, was held at the Chiran Stadium in Da Nang, Vietnam, before a three-day total of approximately 12,000 cheering spectators.

The final championship match held at 8:50 in the morning on August 6, was a contest between the Group A and Group B winners of the previous two days' round robin tournament, the Vietnam 1 Da Nang team and the team from Malaysia. Despite the early hour, the stands were filled with about 4,500 local football fans. Cheered on by their home fans, the Da Nang team dominated the early play, keeping the pressure on the Malaysian team and finally scoring two goals in succession midway through the first half. Meanwhile the Malaysian team did their best to regroup but was unable to connect passes successfully toward the Da Nang goal. In the second half, Da Nang scored two more goals without giving up a single goal to their opponent, to eventually claim a 4-0 victory and be crowned the champions of the memorable 1^st YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL tournament. Team Malaysia came away with the 2^nd place title and both teams were applauded by the crowd as they congratulated each other in an emotional moment after the match.
Before the final match, the 3^rd-place play-off match had been played between the team from Thailand and the Vietnam 2 Phu Yen team. It was an exciting contest in which the Thai team came back after giving up a goal to their Vietnam opponents and scored three goals in succession to win the 3^rd-place title.
In the evening the scene moved to the Hoi An resort beach area on the southeast side of Da Nang for a farewell party. There was no trace left of the tension seen on the field during the matches earlier in the day. Here at the party there were only smiles and laughter of these young people who share the same dream of becoming better football players. This scene of international friendship is certainly one that the young people from each country will long remember.

The YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL tournament competed by under-13 aged player teams from the five ASEAN countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam is a symbol of Yamaha Motor Company's support of sports in the ASEAN region that will hopefully continue to inspire the hopes and dreams of all the children in the region who play the game of football. It is also hoped that this tournament will contribute toward improving the skills of the young players long-term, as we plan to hold it each year from now on in the participating countries on a rotating basis. It has already been decided that the second holding will be next year in 2009 hosted by Thailand.

Champions / Vietnam 1 Da Nang team manager comment
"There were so many local people and friends here cheering for us and it was a big encouragement for the team. Our players were tired from successive days of matches, so last night they got massages to help refresh them, and that seems to have help, because they were able to win today. But winning wasn't our only goal in this tournament. We felt that it was important for us to show fair play and have friendly exchanges with the other countries' teams, and also to inspire each other to help raise the level of our play.
We are also glad that this memorable first ASEAN CUP event could be held in our city of Da Nang. We are grateful to the Vietnam Football Federation and the people at Yamaha Motor Company and Yamaha Motor Vietnam whose support made this event possible. I hope that this kind of wonderful event that inspires the young people will continue for many years to come."

Comment by Mr. Vu Quang Vinh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Football Federation
"In Vietnam today we are involved in a number of programs aimed at actively supporting and nurturing talented football players. We are focusing especially on young players in these programs. That is why the YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL program fits so perfectly into our activities. This event provides a great opportunity not only to plat football but also to promote international exchange and encourage each other to new heights. It is also a wonder event for showing large numbers of people the great hidden potential with our young people. I hope that Yamaha will continue to hold this event for many years to come, so that it will be an inspiration for all young people who want to play football."

Comment by Takahiko Takeda, Operating Officer, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.
"I am very grateful to everyone who helped make this 1^st YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL tournament a great success. We owe this success to the outstanding organizational efforts and hospitality of the Vietnam Football Federation and all the people of the host country. It is also the result of the love of football shown by all the participating teams. It has been impressive to see such young players taking to the field and playing with such professional level skills. The quality of the games has shown how hard the players have trained to play together as teams.
Sports have always been an important field of expression for the "Spirit of Challenge" that Yamaha Motor Company values so highly, and we started the YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL program with the hopes that we can help support the healthy development of the young people that are the future of our countries through the worldwide popular sport of football. We hope that this will become a tournament that the all the football-playing children of the ASEAN region will dream of playing in someday and work hard to achieve that dream. To do this, I hope that all of us in each country will work together to raise interest in this event and build the quality of the competition."

Comment by Masaki Asano, General Director of Yamaha Motor Vietnam Co., Ltd. as Host Country Representative
"First of all I want to thank all of the people who have come to Vietnam for this event from around the ASEAN region. I also want to express our gratitude to the many people whose presence and cooperation have helped make this 1^st YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL tournament a success, including the people of the local Da Nang Gymnastic Headquarters, representatives of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of Indonesia who made the long trip to be here, the members of the press and many others.
Being the first holding of this event, we have seen a number of things that need to be improved, but the greatest reward of all has been to see the smiling faces of the participating players. Seeing their fresh smiles at the end of a hard-fought match has surely been a moving sight for the spectators who came out to see the matches. And it is our sincere hope that this experience of coming to the YAMAHA ASEAN CUP U-13 FOOTBALL tournament as representatives of their countries at the sensitive young age of 13 will have been an experience that will be a big plus for all the participants, not only as football players but as young people with their whole lives ahead of them. We of the Yamaha Motor group are determined to continue this program for many years to come, as a means to contribute to the communities we live and work in, and to do it in a very Yamaha way, through the shared excitement and fulfillment that sports can bring."


Results
Aug. 4
Match 1 (Group A 1)