The 1967 South Vietnam Independence Cup ( vi, Cúp Quốc Khánh 1967) was an invitational men's

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

tournament hosted by

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

and played in

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

by national teams from mostly anti-communist nations that supported the American war effort. The tournament was meant to be as a propaganda exercise. The tournament had previously been held annually since 1961, though only involving South East Asian nations. It was New Zealand's first international tournament and it was to become Australia's first honour in international football. The Australian team toured South East Asia before and after the tournament, winning all ten matches. Eight of the team's players went on to be part of Australia's

1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...

squad, but their achievement in Saigon was largely overlooked back home. Matches at Cong Hoa Stadium and training at an army base adjacent to a mine-field were conducted under armed guard and the teams also trained on their hotel roof. The tournament was held during monsoon season and many matches were rainy and muddy. Attendance was around 20,000–40,000 per match. There was unrest at some matches involving Australia: tear gas was deployed for the semi-final against Malaysia and security had to break up a brawl between the teams and the team had rocks thrown at them after they beat the hosts; the vice-president of South Vietnam had promised his team a bonus at half-time to no avail. The final nearly did not take place after Australian military personnel were kept from being spectators until the team threatened a boycott. Despite the previous hostility, the local crowd supported Australia over South Korea in the final. The coach of the Australian team had agreed to let them keep their tracksuits if they won. The teams complained about the food and conditions at the

Caravelle Hotel The Caravelle Hotel is located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The hotel was opened to the public on Christmas Eve 1959, when the city was known as Saigon. Contemporary journalists noted its use of Italian marble, bullet-proof glass and a "state-of- ...

, where all the teams stayed. An example was when an Australian player was non-fatally electrocuted by a power socket. There may have been a foiled plot to bomb the building. A New Zealand player fell ill and had to stay in hospital for three weeks when his team flew home.

Participants

* * * * * * * *

Group stage

Group A

Group B

Knockout stage

Semi-finals

Third place play-off

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1967 South Vietnam Independence Cup Cold War

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

1967 in Asian football 1967 in Australian soccer 1967 in New Zealand sport 1967 in South Vietnam Football cup competitions in Vietnam November 1967 sports events in Asia