Vietnam team sets goal of participating in World Cup 2034: Realistic or still far away?

1. This is not the first time Vietnam has set a goal of participating in the biggest football festival on the planet. But this time, it carries a different weight as it is included in a national project.

The goal of aiming for the 2034 World Cup finals shows a long-term vision, an acknowledgement that the road we have to travel is very long and requires a methodical strategy.

Having a concrete plan is a necessary first step, creating a compass and a basis for stakeholders to look in the same direction. In other words, the beliefs and aspirations of millions of fans have been heard and formalized.

Vietnam team sets specific goals for World Cup

2. However, looking at reality, the World Cup dream is still far away. The most important foundation for the goal is the V-League, which after a quarter of a century of wearing a professional shirt has not really lived up to expectations.

Expertise, pitch quality, financial questions and the lack of sustainability of the clubs are still the stories that are mentioned over and over again. When the domestic league has not really taken off, it is clearly not a solid enough launching pad.

Along with that is the youth training system. For the same number of years, Vietnamese football still lacks a unified strategy. Training centers operate in a fragmented manner, lacking connection, and the products produced are mainly for short-term achievement racing.

What is more worrying is the mindset of most players, when they are caught up in the vortex of signing bonuses and huge domestic transfer contracts. Being in the "safe zone", being king of the domestic league with huge income is much more attractive than the prospect of playing abroad with full of risks to improve their career.

3. Is the World Cup dream too far-fetched? Not really. The most realistic opportunity comes from the fact that FIFA has increased the number of teams participating in the World Cup to 48, meaning that Asia has more slots for Vietnamese football to compete.

But to complete it will require changes in many aspects from management, tournaments to youth training. Illustrative photo

However, the opportunity will only be an opportunity if Vietnamese football does not change itself. The key does not lie in the projects, but in the change in thinking of the entire system.

Project 2034 must be a real revolution, not a slogan to be forgotten in a drawer. And it requires everyone's cooperation.

Specifically, V-League needs to be standardized, youth training is a vital task for the future of the clubs as well as the whole football industry. And the players need a greater aspiration, to break out of the safe zone.

The road to the 2034 World Cup is still very long, and requires steady, united steps from the entire team, starting today.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-dat-muc-tieu-du-world-cup-2034-thuc-te-hay-van-xa-2418799.html