In the last year or so…

Since the Asian Gaelic Games last year in Georgetown, Penang, the Viet Celts has continued to diversify in a determined bid to become the most multi-racial Gaelic football club in the world – not even an English Premiership football team owned by a billionaire oligarch from Russia could assemble such a dubious foreign legion of mercurial talents with players hailing from Ireland, England, Scotland, Vietnam, France, Australia, Ecuador, America and Uganda (wait till you hear our multi-lingual anthem).   

Last June the Viet Celts also hosted the VC Invitational Gaelic Football Tournament in Hanoi welcoming Orang-Éire of Malaysia to Vietnam for the second year running while also introducing The Vietnam Swans, an Australian Rules team, to the game on the day. Such our hospitality and respect for encouraging the game at “grass roots” level, the Viet Celts Blue let Orang Éire win the final while the Viet Celts White let the Vietnam Swans bag third place in the loser’s play-off – then we took everyone out for tea and cake.  

History was also made on St. Patrick’s Day last March when two teams of U14 Vietnamese students from VAS (Vietnam Australian School) in Hanoi played the first ever schools game of Gaelic football in Vietnam. The Viet Celts’ team of dieticians will now attempt to beef these young local stars up with imported Irish Rashers, spuds, crisp sandwiches and spice burgers in the hope of turning them into fine, strapping Gaelic football players by the time they turn 18.

In 2009 a small squadron of Viet Celts also twice joined forces with a team from Thailand, firstly for the KL Challenge in February and secondly for the Southeast Asian Gaelic Games, also in KL, last May. On the second occasion this exotic fusion of Vietnamese- and Thai-style athleticism helped them win the plate, the first piece of winning silverware to sit inside the Viet Celts immaculate and imagined trophy cabinet; even if it’s only half a plate, we’re very proud of it.

The Birth

The Viet Celts made history without even kicking a ball in 2007. Simply gathering in a field and posing for a photograph with an iconic O'Neill's Gaelic football was proof enough that the first ever Vietnam-based Gaelic football club had been born. It was too hot to play anyway – so we all went to the nearest pub for light refreshments.

But subsequently the Viet Celts diligently began training in preparation for the Asian Gaelic Games, held in Singapore, June 2007, under the patient guidance of head coach of Colm Ross, who has been described as more of a legend than a man on more than one occasion. Thanks to Colm a seed had been sown and ever since the game’s popularity in Vietnam has grown steadily.

The country’s first ever Gaelic football tournament, the Southeast Asia Gaelic Games was held at UNIS in Ciputra International City, Hanoi on June 28, 2008 with teams from Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam competing for the honours (duly accepted by Singapore) and a one-off exhibition game between two female teams from Vietnam and Singapore.

In 2008 the Viet Celts squad also had the pleasure of meeting An Taoiseach Brian Cowen who was in Hanoi for the occasion of St. Patrick’s Day, back in those heady, carefree days when he was simply known as An Tánaiste and the world was his oyster.

Thanks to....

Since its inception in 2007 Viet Celts has competed at tournaments abroad and promoted the game in Vietnam thanks to the kind sponsorship of ESBI, Mines Advisory Group (MAG) Vietnam, Jaspa’s, Finnegan's Pub of Hanoi, Sheridan's Pub of Ho Chi Minh City, Terotech, ACB, Tiger Beer, Tiger Airlines, Orient Tours, Coca Cola, Midas, John Gunning and the Embassy of Ireland.

The club would also like to thank in particular the Irish Ambassador to Vietnam Maeve Collins and Sean Hoy, the former head of development at Irish Aid in Hanoi for their invaluable support.

We would also like to thank the United Nations International School in Hanoi for providing us with our excellent training throughout the year as well as a venue for both the SEA Games in 2008 and VC Invitational in 2009.

Form Guide

“This motley bunch of men has blown their chances of going all the way in previous competitions by drinking till the cows come home on the Friday night. So this year a mid-week arrival for the entire squad means the Viet Celts will most likely be twice as hung-over with half the squad M.I.A. Nevertheless we like to consider ourselves an outside shot for the Plate or whatever it is they’re calling the cup for the lesser mortals nowadays.”