'Red alert' for V-League

The Cambodian national league unexpectedly rose to 14th place in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) rankings, pushing the V-League down to 15th place and securing a direct spot in the Europa League next season.

Cambodia's rapid progress

Thanks to their outstanding performance in the AFC Challenge League (Asian Cup C3) 2025-2026 season, Cambodian football has officially surpassed Vietnam for the first time in history to claim 14th place, pushing the V-League down to 15th. The biggest highlight was Svay Rieng FC's remarkable achievement of reaching the AFC Challenge League final. In addition, Phnom Penh Crown FC maintained consistent form by reaching the quarter-finals of the same tournament. According to Footy Rankings, these impressive results helped the Cambodian national league accumulate an additional 8,725 points, while Vietnam's V-League only had 8,667 points.

Nam Dinh FC, with Xuan Son (center), was eliminated in the group stage of the AFC Cup.

PHOTO: NAM DINH CLUB

Although the UEFA Cup (C3) has a lower coefficient than the UEFA Cup (C1) and UEFA Cup (C2), consistent performance throughout the season has propelled Cambodia to 10th place in East Asia for the 2017-2026 period. This is a rapid leap forward, completely changing their position on the regional football map. Cambodia's rise is not due to luck; it is the result of a well-planned investment strategy from wealthy owners in their two core teams, Phnom Penh Crown and Svay Rieng. Thanks to their new ranking, Cambodia will be awarded one direct entry and one play-off spot in the AFC Cup (C2) next season.

Minh Phúc impresses in V-League, solving the right wing problem for the Vietnamese national team.

Are Vietnamese clubs indifferent to the Asian Cup?

In fact, Vietnamese clubs prepared quite thoroughly for the AFC Champions League Two (Asian Cup C2) last season. Nam Dinh FC signed 10 foreign players, while Hanoi Police FC also had 5 foreign players to enter the competition. However, the reality on the field was not as expected. Nam Dinh FC, despite fielding up to 9 foreign players in some matches, still performed poorly and were eliminated in the group stage. Hanoi Police FC, with a more stable squad, reached the round of 16, but due to a mistake by the coaching staff (including two players who had received 3 yellow cards), they were handed a 0-3 defeat in the first leg despite winning 4-0 against Tampines Rovers. This shocking result led to a heavy 1-3 defeat in the second leg and a bitter elimination.

It's clear that participating in Asian Cups remains a burden for Vietnamese clubs, especially financially. Only a few V-League teams can meet the criteria to participate in Asian Cups, such as CAHN, Hanoi FC, Nam Dinh, or Ninh Binh ; while the rest, if they qualify, find it too much of a burden and often withdraw. Meanwhile, countries in the region place great importance on these tournaments, especially Thailand and Malaysia, as it helps to enhance the status of their domestic leagues such as the Thai League or Liga Super Malaysia. A prime example is the Asian Cup quarter-final where Johor Darul Ta'zim (Malaysia) put up a fierce fight, making it extremely difficult for Al-Ahli (Saudi Arabia) to secure a narrow 2-1 victory. Buriram United (Thailand) also nearly caused an upset, losing to Shabab Al Ahli (UAE) 2-3 in injury time in the other quarter-final match. Remember, Buriram FC only beat CAHN FC on penalties in the final of the 2025 Southeast Asian Club Championship.

Prize money for participating teams has increased in recent years, thus attracting more players and raising the quality of the tournament significantly. Specifically, the winner of the 2024-2025 AFC Champions League will receive a total of $12 million, a substantial increase from $4 million in the 2023-2024 season. Even the losing team in the final will receive $6 million, an increase of $4 million compared to the 2023-2024 season. Also in this season, Nam Dinh FC received nearly 10 billion VND ($380,000) thanks to their achievements in the AFC Champions League Two, including $300,000 in support for participating in the group stage and $80,000 for reaching the knockout round.

Clearly, to gain a foothold in Asian club competitions, Vietnamese clubs need to carefully consider their finances, strengthen their teams by adding players, and recruit high-quality foreign players to compete with top Asian clubs. Conversely, if they remain indifferent to these competitions, not only the clubs but also the V-League will lose its standing in the region.

Watch LPBank V-League 1-2025-2026 live and in full on FPT Play, at https://fptplay.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bao-dong-do-cho-v-league-185260420203547796.htm