Vietnamese football team asked to be "relegated" for a reason that couldn't be more familiar.

On October 10, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Binh Thuan sent a dispatch to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF) to request withdrawal from the First Division.

Binh Thuan Club requested to be relegated to the Second Division in the 2023-2024 season.

In the dispatch, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Binh Thuan said: "The 2023 National First Division Football season just ended its last round of matches on August 26, 2023 and the new season according to the issued schedule starts from October 21, 2023.

Due to the short preparation time and the project to socialize Binh Thuan Club to switch to the model of a football joint stock company that has not been approved yet, there are still some difficulties, especially regarding funding, so the Club has asked to withdraw from the First Division and move down to play in the Second Division.

It is not uncommon for a Vietnamese football team to drop out of a tournament or ask to play in a lower division due to lack of funds.

Most recently, the V-League team Khanh Hoa almost had to leave the tournament due to financial problems.

But luckily, the coastal city football team later received investment from the home province and businesses so they could maintain operations.

Returning to Binh Thuan Club, they played quite well in the 2023 season when they ranked 5th/10 in the First Division with 7 wins, 2 draws, 9 losses, reaching 23 points. It is worth mentioning that this is only their first season of promotion.

Before deciding to be demoted to the Second Division, there was information that 18 players of Binh Thuan Club wrote a petition to denounce the fact that the team's management did not pay bonuses for the entire season and that their food allowance was also cut.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/doi-bong-viet-nam-xin-xuong-hang-vi-ly-do-biet-roi-kho-lam-noi-mai-192231011005914387.htm