Nine kinds of sports will be the focus of HCM City's main sports activities under a plan to 2020, according to officials.

Mai Ba Hung, deputy director of the city's Department of Cultural, Sports and Tourism, said the sports include taekwondo, judo, volleyball, athletics, bicycle, table tennis, tennis, badminton and football.

Although these sports are popular, they have not been developed adequately, Hung said.

The city will also focus on enhancing Olympic sports like weight-lifting and gymnastics, as well as athletics, male volleyball, martial arts, tennis and badminton.

In addition, the HCM City Football Club said it would further invest in football, although the club is faced with a shortage of finances.

The department has also asked Thong Nhat Stadium to offer training programmes for young footballers to develop a long-term pool of players for football.

Hung, who is upbeat about the sport, said: "I think city football will see further progress this year."

Other sports like table tennis, cycling and tennis will also receive more funds from various sources.

The city will also work with the sports federation to send athletes abroad for professional training, according to Hung.

Officials said the city was considering plans to build the Rach Chiec Sport Centre and the HCM City Sport Centre, the latter expected to be located near the Phu Tho racetrack.

HCM City is also preparing necessary documents to ask for the right to host the SEA Games in 2015, 2017 or 2019.

For long-term planning, the department will select athletes with the most potential and train them into professional athletes.

The department is also working with many sport centres to invest in other sports with potential, especially beach volleyball.

Sport centres in the city have faced a lack of space for athletes to practice because the land for public activities has become limited, especially in the central districts.

The lack of co-operation among various organisations and agencies has also presented barriers to furthering sports, according to city officials.

The number of city residents who play sports has been increasing, accounting up to 25 per cent of the city's population until October last year, according to city authorities.

In 2010, the city held a total of nearly 800 amateur sport competitions. 

Source: VNS