OREANDA-NEWS. July 10, 2015. Toyota Motor Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (TMAP) is proud to launch the highly anticipated second Toyota Mekong Club Championship football tournament in Bangkok, Thailand.

Objective of Mekong Football Project

The Toyota Mekong Club Championship is a football tournament among champions from Mekong countries initiated by TMAP in 2014 under the Toyota Mekong Football Project. It was started with the idea of connecting the passion and energy of football with Toyota’s constant pursuit to bring ‘ever better’ cars to customers. Bringing sustainable, innovative and exciting solutions to every country has been a key focus for Toyota. This year, the aim is to go beyond delivering better cars and become a ‘Best Partner’ together with the communities of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, making football accessible to the young and old, aspiring football players and fans of the sport.

Toyota has more than 280 initiatives that contribute to education, environment and societal well-being, in partnership with local communities. Some past initiatives include Toyota Eco Youth project in Malaysia and Indonesia, IMC Toyota School Environment Project in Pakistan and Toyota Safety Education Program (TSEP) in India where more than 670,000 children had participated.

Bigger scale for second year

The Toyota Mekong Club Championship matches will be held from November 1, 2015 to December 20, 2015. To make the matches even more exciting, we welcome Thailand as a new participant and we have revised the format whereby matches will be hosted in all participating countries. This is a significant step and it is aligned with the objective of making the sport more accessible to the general public. Supporters can now look forward to supporting their home teams in their local stadiums.

The participating football clubs in the The Toyota Mekong Club Championship will be winners of each League or Cup in each country. These football clubs then vie for the Toyota Mekong Club Championship 2015 title.

Between November 1 and November 29, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar will play in home and away matches. This will be followed by the semi-final held on December 6, where the Vietnamese team and the winner from 3 countries will play in Vietnam. Finally, on December 20, the final match will be held in Thailand.

In addition to the title, the winning team will also receive a cash prize of USD 75,000.

“This year, all matches will take place in all five countries to create more enthusiasm and excitement for this Championship. I anticipate this new format will attract more people and football fans alike, in each country, to gather and cheer their home team on.” said Mr. Kyoichi Tanada, Managing Officer of Toyota Motor Corporation and President of Toyota Motor Asia Pacific. “Initiatives such as this are important and it is part of Toyota’s commitment to continue to strengthen our long-standing partnership with Asian communities and contribute to their sustainable development at a local level,” he added.

As part of its commitment to nurture football talent in the region at the grassroots level, Toyota is going to continue the Toyota Mekong Football Challenge to engage the youth and contribute to enriching the lives of communities through football in Thailand and Vietnam.

In Thailand and Vietnam, football clinics will be conducted in seven provinces in Thailand- (Chonburi, Nakornratchasima, Khonkaen, Bangkok, Pitsanulok, Ratchaburi, Nakornsrithammarat) and four provinces in Vietnam- (Ha Noi City, Da Nang City, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho City). These will be conducted between May and August to offer children football training. Promising young talents will be selected to be part of a junior representative Toyota team that will fly to Japan to play against the junior teams of the Japan Professional Football League.

“Parallel to the title sponsorship, we are also continuing the Toyota Mekong Football Challenge to inspire and groom young football talent. Many youth are keen on football, either from playing during their free time or inspired by a player who has beaten the odds to be a national representative. We want to be able to give these youth an opportunity to learn some tips and be inspired by the athletics,” said Mr. Tanada. Fans watching the matches at the stadium can look forward to enjoying several attractive activities. Tickets for the matches will be on sale at the stadium on match day.

For more information, please visit the official Toyota Mekong Football website: http://toyotamekongfootball.com/.

Tournament Schedule and Venue

Note: Match times will be updated on the official website.

1st November, Laos vs Cambodia at Anouvong Stadium in Vientiane, Laos

22nd November, Myanmar vs Laos at Thuwunna Youth Training Centre in Yangon, Myanmar

29th November, Cambodia vs Myanmar at National Olympic Stadium, Phnon Penh, Cambodia

6th December, Vietnam vs the winning team from 1st round at Hanoi Hangday Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam

20th December, Thailand vs the winning team from semi-final at Suphachalasai National Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand