Vietnam and World cup

Vietnamese student hatmakers earn good money at World Cup

Vietnamese students are cashing in on World Cup mania by selling decorated hats.

Students studying in Germany contacted their families in Viet Nam to order a large quantity of hand-made hats before the World Cup’s balls started rolling in stadiums.

Thanh Truc, a student living in Viet Nam, said her brother ordered her nearly a thousand hats made of straw. He sent her a photo of a Mexican sombrero by email. It helped her to design a sample hat before asking workers to produce the desired quantity. The hats arrived a few days before the World Cup started, at a price of under a Euro a piece.

Truc said his brother sold the hats to other Vietnamese students who coloured the hats to represent the Mexican flag. The students sold the hats to Mexican fans at a price of three Euro.

With the hat business, Truc added nearly VND10 million (US$600) to her account. The amount of money can cover four years college tuition for her.

Other students also cultivated the same business, using designs for other countries. Nguyen Binh Nguyen bought all available hats in Ha Noi to send to his relatives in Germany. The receivers coloured those hats to represent certain teams, and sold the hats at games.

Nguyen and the other students earned pretty good money, allowing Nguyen to consider travelling to Germany.

Vietnamese students usually take advantage of big sports or cultural events to earn some extra money. Some take these opportunities to practice their business skills.

Cable TV boom grips southern provinces during football action

Demand for installing cable TVs are increasing largely in southern provinces, according to Viet Nam Cable TVs.

Soc Trang Town has a huge demand for cable TVs. Most of the customers hope to have the cable service for the World Cup. They are buying large screen TVs to get the best quality of service.

Some small business owners also please their customers buy installing cable service and using large screen TVs to increase their food and drink services.

FIFA supports underprivileged kids in Quang Binh

Vietnamese children in Dong Hoi, Quang Binh province will enjoy financial and facility support from FIFA, the world’s most powerful football organisation, in “6 villages for 2006 – the official charity campaign of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.”

Co-ordinators of the programme in Viet Nam expect that more than a hundred orphans and children experiencing great difficulties in the province can benefit from the programme. They will be supported and receive guidance.

A book comprising signatures of all football stars and coaches participating in 2006 World Cup will be on auction to collect money for the campaign.

The campaign has collected US$631,000 from the Ticketing Show on German ZDF Television channel since June 8, 2006.

Five other villages in Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa and Ukraine will also enjoy FIFA’s assistance this year.

“FIFA for SOS children’s villages” was initiated in 1995 by then-President Joao Havelange and it has benefited hundreds of children world wide, according to the programme’s official website.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said the initiative is “one of clearest signals of social responsibility in the world of football… is the most pleasing aspects of FIFA’s work.” — VNS