Don't be half-heartedly professional.

Gia Dinh Club has moved its "household registration" from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Tho, changed its name to Xuan Thien Phu Tho and competed in the 2025 - 2026 First Division. It sounds like a joke.

Gia Dinh Club during training in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: GIA DINH FC

Joking because this still happens continuously in Vietnam even though it has entered its 25th year of professional football.

Strange Gia Dinh Club

After winning the promotion, Gia Dinh Club has been actively training to prepare for the 2025 - 2026 First Division. The team also announced on the fanpage that they chose Military Zone 7 Stadium as their home stadium. But unexpectedly, Gia Dinh Club moved to Phu Tho on September 8, transferred and requested to change its name to Xuan Thien Phu Tho, taking Viet Tri Stadium as their home stadium.

This is the second time Gia Dinh Club has transferred to another locality. Last time, this team transferred its participation in the 2024 Second Division to Bac Ninh Club - the team that has also won the right to play in the 2025 - 2026 First Division.

But that is not enough to talk about the strange journey of Gia Dinh Club - the team was founded in 2019 after also taking a place to participate in the 2019 Second Division from Hoang Sang Club, Ho Chi Minh City.

After defeating PVF-CAND in the 2020 Second Division play-off and winning promotion, Gia Dinh Club withdrew from the 2021 First Division for the reason: not meeting the requirements of professional football.

Promotion - transfer, that refrain has been carried out by Gia Dinh Club for the past 6 years without any obstacles. Most recently, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has granted an exception for Gia Dinh Club to transfer and change its name to Xuan Thien Phu Tho.

When professional?

This is not the first time Vietnamese football has allowed clubs to transfer like this. There have been many successful cases of circumventing the law, only 1-2 clubs have been unlucky enough to be "whistled" due to problems with the Professional Football Regulations (PFF), or due to force majeure.

In 2016, Hanoi FC moved its "registration" to Ho Chi Minh City and changed its name to Saigon FC when the 2016 V-League had already played 4 rounds. The 2015 BĐCN regulations do not allow transfers to other localities and during the season. However, this transfer was still allowed by VFF on the grounds that Hanoi FC only changed its name and headquarters, not its ownership.

But 2 years later, VFF did not allow Hanoi B Club to transfer its "household registration" to Ha Tinh to compete in the 2018 First Division due to violating the Football Association Regulations. In addition to the transfer to another locality, the reason was also because Hanoi B Club had just won the right to be promoted, while the regulations stipulated that it had to compete for a season before it could be transferred.

Since 2015, the BĐCN Regulations have been amended and supplemented twice in 2021 and 2023. However, the strange thing is that the regulations that were barriers to the transfer and transfer of "household registration" of football teams are no longer in the regulations.

What are the consequences? In the 2024 Second Division alone, there have been 3 transfer clubs: Gia Dinh (transferred to Bac Ninh), Quang Nam Youth (Van Hien University - Ho Chi Minh City) and Gama Vinh Phuc (Gia Lai Central Highlands). The latest is the transfer of Gia Dinh Club to Phu Tho.

Vietnamese football is developing in an inverted pyramid, with lower-ranked teams being fewer than higher-ranked teams. Many clubs do not meet youth training, stadium, and financial standards, but are still granted exceptional licenses year after year. But what is more worrying is that the practice of freely transferring and changing the "household registration" of football teams still exists.

It does not bring sustainable development to the club itself or to the football industry. There are bosses who sponsor many clubs but are applauded by many football people because they think they are helping Vietnamese football, helping many clubs overcome financial difficulties or avoid dissolution.

But over the years, Vietnamese football has had many clubs dissolved or withdrawn from the tournament. So instead of granting exceptions, let’s tighten the professionalism of the clubs. Only let as many clubs as meet the standards as possible.

Because of the constant pursuit of the desired number of teams, Vietnamese football will be "exhausted" for a long time, because every year there is a redraw when a team withdraws at the last minute. The latest is Hoa Binh Club, after excitedly announcing the change of name to Phu Tho Club and changing the team logo, 3 days later announced its dissolution.

NGUYEN KHOI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dung-chuyen-nghiep-nua-voi-20250912082651322.htm