B: One of the most interesting things when I process listeners’ letters is finding out more about places around the world. This beautiful postcard says that New Brunswick is the largest of Canada’s three maritime provinces. It was one of the original provinces forming the Dominion of Canada in 1867. The postcard shows the province’s shoreline and some of its cultural heritages: Quoddy Head Lighthouse, Confederation Bridge, Hopewell Rocks, a Wooden Covered Bridge, and the Provincial flag. 

A: The stamps on the envelope reveal many things about Canada – sports, flowers, and important figures. We collect all the stamps on listeners’ letters to send to other DX’ers and stamp collectors in other countries.

B: Kanchan KR Chatterjee of India sent us some photos of a Hindu festival. Thank you for letting me know about an annual  Hindu event that reveres the Goddess Durga. The festival is observed in the Hindu calendar month of Ashvin, typically September or October, and is a multi-day festival that features elaborate temple and stage decorations, scripture recitation, performance arts, revelry, and processions.

Kanchan KR Chatterjee of India sent us a photo of Goddess Durga Festival

A: Listeners, you’re invited to send us information about your cultural and religious events. We enjoy reading about festivals of other countries and we’ll share our joy with all our listeners. Hector Frias Jofre of Chile listened to VOV on October 24 on the frequency of 7315khz. He rated SINPO at 45444. He said the signal came in with a little bit noise, but minimal fading. Hector said the news and the commentaries about energy and architecture were informative. A female singer with an amazing voice ended the program.

B: Here I have a letter from Muhammad Shamim of India, who listens to VOV and sends us feedback on a weekly basis. He has interesting questions about our news and about Vietnam. This time he wants to know about football academies in Vietnam.

A training session at Hoang Anh Gia Lai-Arsenal JMG

A: Football is the number one sport in our country. The Vietnamese national football team now ranks 121^st globally on the FIFA ranking for October, 2017.  The Vietnam Football Federation attributed the rise to the team’s second consecutive win against Cambodia at the Asian Cup 2019 Qualifying Round, which added 20 points in the FIFA ranking. The squad now ranks 21st in Asia and third in Southeast Asia, after the Philippines and Thailand.

B: Vietnam has several football clubs and training centers, but Hoang Anh Gia Lai – Arsenal JMG Academy was the first football academy established in 2007. It was a collaboration of England’s Arsenal Football Club, JMG Academy, and Vietnam’s Hoang Anh Gia Lai Corporation. Early this year, Hoàng Anh Gia Lai FC officially ended their 10-year relationship with European giant Arsenal and named the Academy Hoang Anh Gia Lai – JMG.

Young players at PVF Promotion Fund of Vietnamese Football Talents

A: Under the original contract, Arsenal sent coaches and trainers to Vietnam for a decade. The first generation of players won regional tournaments, including a U21 title at the Youth Newspaper International Football Tournament in 2014. The three best players from Hoàng Anh Gia Lai were sent to compete abroad. Currently, midfielder Lương Xuân Trường is under contract to South Korea’s Gangwon FC.

B: There are some other football organizations in Vietnam: Viettel Football Training Center, PVF Promotion Fund of Vietnamese Football Talents, and Royal International Football School, for example.

A: The Viettel Football Training Center is where budding, teenage Vietnamese talents with dreams of becoming star players are trained. The young trainees undergo strenuous practice for the U12 and U21 teams.

B: The PVF-Promotion Fund for Vietnamese Football Talent is a non-governmental, non-profit organization started by the Hearts of Gold Fund, the PVF Investment and Trade Joint Stock Company, and the Vinpearl Company.

A: The Vietnam Football Federation has cooperated with many foreign clubs to create better training opportunities for their players. Last year Gamba Osaka, who were the champion of the AFC Champions League, signed a 2-year cooperation agreement with the Promotion Fund for Vietnamese Football Talents to train young players and take young Vietnamese football talents to play in Japan.

B: From Indonesia, Eddy Prabowo emailed us that he listened to VOV on October 28 on the frequency of 7315 kHz. He logged in to our channel via webSDR at Milford, Pennsylvania, and monitored in Jakarta, Indonesia, using a Xioami Android smartphone. He noted that the signal was relatively stable and strong with clear audio and less noise. He rated SINPO at 45444.

A: Eddy, your report was specific and we definitely will send you a QSL card to confirm it. Richard Nowak of Fort Pierce, Florida, wrote to us that the show on October 30 on 7315 kHz was heard with SINPO of 45333.

B: He said “I loved the Sunday Show segment on film photography. There was some fading of reception so I couldn’t hear everything and would love to hear this show again in the future. The unique characteristics of film, younger photographers interested in film, developing film, servicing cameras, loading film and the affordability of film cameras were all interesting and made for a great show!”

A: After being broadcast on shortwave, our Sunday Show is posted on our website at vovworld.vn in both written and audio versions. We’ll consider rebroadcasting the programs for DX’ers who missed them. Richard continued: “I love film photography. My father was an amateur photographer and shot film. I inherited his cameras and was shooting film a lot. I have a collection of film cameras and a wide variety of film. I need to get out shooting now that the weather is getting cooler here. Also I like to shoot pinholes. The show was great! Thanks for the QSL cards and the lovely paper dolls! These are unique and beautiful.”

B: Thanks you very much, Richard, for supporting shortwave and VOV. Your regular feedback is appreciated as it helps us assess our broadcast.

A: This week we acknowledge reception reports from Hayato Furukawa of Japan, Ramu Karthik of India, Andrew Kuznetsov of Latvia, and  Shivendu Paul, President of the Metali Listeners’ Club of India. We’ll verify your reception reports and hope our QSL cards will reach all of you soon.

B: We welcome your letters at English Section, Overseas Service, Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Our email address is englishsection@vov.org.vn. Thank you for listening. Please join us again next Wednesday for another Letter Box edition. Goodbye.