Great news: Sports industry proposes to increase income for Vietnamese athletes, a hot breakthrough

The sports industry has proposed to increase the regime and financial support for training and competition and develop specific policies for athletes and sports coaches in the draft Decree replacing Decree No. 152/2018/ND-CP of the Government.

Athletes are proposed to increase income and benefits during training and competition time.

On the morning of August 7, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism chaired a conference to collect expert opinions on the draft Decree replacing Decree No. 152/2018/ND-CP dated November 7, 2018 of the Government regulating a number of regimes for sports coaches and athletes during training and competition periods. In particular, the key goal is to improve the income of athletes and coaches so that sports heroes can ensure their lives and wholeheartedly devote themselves to the country.

If this bonus proposal is passed, Vietnamese sports will have a shocking breakthrough.

The issue of salary, income, and benefits for athletes and coaches in national teams or youth teams has been a "hot" topic discussed for many years. Media agencies, including Thanh Nien Newspaper with the series of articles "After the halo" (published in June), have expressed the opinion that the income of sports athletes is considered low compared to the social level, and not satisfactory with the effort of training, dedication, and contribution. With this level of income, most athletes find it difficult to focus on competing and accumulating finances to prepare for the future after retirement.

Athletes need special policies to ensure income

Receiving, listening and filtering comments from the press and public opinion, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is focusing on reviewing, researching and advising competent authorities to amend and supplement a number of policies for athletes and coaches to ensure they are consistent with reality. In the draft decree replacing Decree No. 152, the sports sector has proposed to significantly increase the policies for athletes and coaches at the national team and youth team levels.

Specifically, the head coach of the national team receives a salary of 1,010,000 VND/day; the coach of the national team receives a salary of 750,000 VND/day; the athlete of the national team receives a salary of 540,000 VND/day; the athlete of the national youth team receives a salary of 430,000 VND/day; the athlete of the team of the industry, province, and centrally-run city receives a salary of 360,000 VND/day. These salaries are all double (100%) compared to the previous Decree 152.

At the same time, coaches and athletes called up to national sports teams with the potential to win gold medals at the ASIAD, win gold medals at the Youth Olympic Games (hereinafter referred to as Youth Olympic Games), and have the potential to qualify for the Olympic Games are proposed to receive salaries equal to twice the salaries of national team coaches and athletes.

"In recent times, Decree 152 and Resolution 36 of the Government have helped many coaches and athletes feel secure in dedicating themselves to the country's sports, achieving a number of achievements at the SEA Games, ASIAD and Olympics. Notably, in the past two consecutive terms, Vietnamese sports have led the SEA Games. However, in the context of Vietnamese sports integrating with Asia and the world , competition is increasingly fierce, domestic sports are still limited at the Olympics and only barely meet the target at ASIAD.

Vietnamese sports aspire to reach new heights

The Government has issued Resolution 01, assigning the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to supplement Decree 152 stipulating a number of regimes for sports coaches and athletes during the period of concentrated training and competition, including: salary, bonus, training and competition support money; social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, occupational accident and disease insurance; regimes for coaches and athletes when they are sick, pregnant, have occupational accidents or occupational diseases during the period of concentrated training and competition... thereby improving salaries, bonuses, nutritional regimes, solving employment for athletes, improving the material and spiritual life of athletes and coaches to feel secure in dedicating themselves to developing high-performance sports, overcoming overlapping and inadequacies," Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong shared.

Supplementing regulations on regimes for medical staff

In the draft Decree replacing Decree No. 152/2018/ND-CP dated November 7, 2018 of the Government, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the sports sector also proposed a remuneration regime for medical staff.

Specifically, item a, clause 5 of the draft proposes that medical staff do not receive salaries from the state budget: doctors are paid salaries equal to the salaries of the respective team coaches; medical technicians are paid salaries equal to the salaries of the respective team athletes.

This is a groundbreaking proposal, because up to now, the sports medical team (doctors, nurses, medical staff) has faced many difficulties and has not received a level of treatment commensurate with the effort they put in.

At the same time, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism requested localities, based on their functions, tasks and decentralized authority, to study the provisions of the 2018 Law on Physical Training and Sports, Decree No. 152/2018/ND-CP, Decree No. 36/2019/ND-CP and related documents to develop and promulgate specific regimes and policies for coaches and athletes under local management.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tin-cuc-vui-nganh-the-thao-de-xuat-tang-thu-nhap-cho-vdv-viet-nam-cu-dot-pha-nong-185250807100320508.htm