A wake-up call for professional football

Recently, a series of professional football clubs in Vietnam have withdrawn from major tournaments such as the National Football Championship (V.League), the National First Division Football Championship, the National Cup... This not only causes regret for fans, but also raises concerns about the sustainability of professional football development. This is truly a wake-up call about the shortcomings in management, finance and long-term strategy of many football teams in Vietnam.

Hoa Binh Football Club (yellow shirt) has made many impressions in the National First Division Football Tournament.

Financial crisis and its knock-on effects

The direct cause of many football clubs having to leave the tournament is largely due to financial problems. To operate a professional football team, the average cost per season ranges from several tens to hundreds of billions of VND. The main source of revenue currently still depends on sponsors or local budgets. Revenue from ticket sales, television copyright or commercial business is still very limited.

The story of Binh Dinh Football Club is a typical example. In 2021, Binh Dinh was promoted to the National Football Championship (V.League). Thanks to financial support with a budget of up to 300 billion VND for three seasons (average 100 billion VND/season), this team immediately rose to the level of rich teams when buying many players but not taking care of the youth training system and many ambitions in V.League. However, by the 2024-2025 season, the financial decline caused the club to face difficulties. As a result, when the stars left, the team immediately had a force crisis and relegation was predicted.

Or the case of Quang Nam Football Club also announced that they would not register to participate in the V.League 2025-2026 due to financial reasons, leaving the tournament with only 13 teams. Recently, Hoa Binh Football Club officially asked not to participate in the National First Division Football Tournament and the National Cup 2025-2026. The withdrawal of Hoa Binh Football Club greatly affected the plan to organize professional football tournaments. Accordingly, the National First Division Football Tournament has only 12 participating teams, and the National Cup has only 25 teams. This forced the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF) to urgently recalculate the organization plan. With the National First Division Football Tournament having only 12 teams; the V.League having only 13 participating teams, VPF also had to recalculate the promotion and relegation slots.

VFF General Secretary Nguyen Van Phu emphasized: “Professional football cannot rely on just one or two short-term sponsors. When financial resources depend entirely on businesses, teams easily fall into a passive position. If a sponsor withdraws, the entire system will collapse.”

It's time to rebuild sustainable football development

According to VFF Vice President, VPF Board Chairman Tran Anh Tu, in reality, the disappearance of a club due to lack of operating funds is not a problem unique to Vietnamese football. Even in developed football, many lower-ranking teams face similar difficulties. To develop sustainable professional football, Mr. Tran Anh Tu believes that clubs must build a modern management model, stay close to the community, invest in youth training, develop brands, exploit copyrights and commercialize products to create long-term revenue sources.

Meanwhile, football expert Phan Anh Tu commented that the withdrawal of a football team also affects the image of Vietnamese football in the eyes of fans and international partners. Therefore, clubs need to clearly define a long-term development model, avoiding chasing short-term achievements. Investing in youth training not only helps provide a stable source of players, but also opens up business opportunities through transfers and international cooperation. This is the path that has helped many football teams in the region and the world maintain sustainable development.

In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to building close links with the local community. A football team cannot only survive on corporate money, but needs to become the “spiritual asset” of the people. Calling on small and medium-sized enterprises in the province to join hands, develop a system of loyal fans, organize community-building events, etc. will help the club have a more solid social foundation.

On the management side, it is necessary to study and apply mechanisms to protect clubs, similar to those in many other countries. For example, establishing a financial support fund for clubs in difficulty, or applying mandatory financial transparency regulations before participating in tournaments. This will both increase responsibility and limit the situation of withdrawing midway, avoiding affecting the quality and reputation of tournaments.

VFF Vice President Tran Anh Tu said that the lesson of the withdrawal of football clubs like Quang Nam, Hoa Binh or before that, the difficulties of Binh Dinh, is not only a loss for local football, but also a reminder that: To build a strong football foundation, the sustainability factor must be put first. Investing in football cannot only look at immediate results, but must have a long-term vision, a synchronous development strategy from youth training, infrastructure to financial management.

In the context of Vietnamese football aiming for big goals such as the World Cup or the Olympics, the foundation of domestic tournaments must be even more solid. Without a stable professional tournament system, it is difficult to talk about long-term development.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/hoi-chuong-canh-tinh-cho-bong-da-chuyen-nghiep-716009.html