The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism directs a comprehensive inspection.

" We will direct the Department of Sports and Physical Education to immediately conduct a comprehensive inspection and review of training work at the national teams, especially in ensuring facilities, living conditions, and funding according to regulations to meet training requirements. It is necessary to strictly implement the law on the implementation of professional tasks while also caring for the lives of coaches and athletes in the national teams. We are setting a deadline for completing this before October 20th, and the Ministry is actively working to address the issue promptly ," Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Trinh Thi Thuy stated at the regular press conference for the third quarter of 2023.

On October 2nd, images of a meal allegedly costing 800,000 VND for eight young athletes went viral on social media. Public outrage erupted as the meal consisted of only four or five basic dishes, deemed disproportionate to the amount of money spent. Furthermore, the breakfast, which was supposed to cost 100,000 VND, consisted of only a handful of sticky rice and a bottle of soda.

The meal cost 800,000 VND, but the athletes didn't have enough to eat. (Photo: Tien Phong Newspaper)

Furthermore, coach Bui Xuan Ha is alleged to have collected money from athletes. Each athlete was required to pay a different amount to the head coach. This collection of money is not included in the regulations. In meetings held since the afternoon of October 3rd, the Department of Sports and Physical Education has received reports from the team and relevant parties and is continuing to investigate and clarify the matter.

Following media reports, the Ministry immediately directed the Department of Sports and Physical Education to coordinate with relevant units to handle the matter promptly. The Department of Sports and Physical Education decided to suspend the entire coaching staff from training and return the team to training at the National Sports Training Center in Hanoi. The Ministry also requested relevant units to clarify responsibilities and, if any violations are found, to handle them strictly in order to rectify and improve the quality of training.

Ms. Trinh Thi Thuy informed: " The Hanoi National Training Center does not have enough space to accommodate more than 40 youth teams training annually (approximately 1,000 people). Due to objective difficulties in terms of facilities, to meet training needs, the teams have to move to facilities of the National Training Zone or centers in other localities."

The center makes monthly salary and nutrition payments to coaches and athletes through separate accounts. For the youth table tennis team, living and eating arrangements from February 2023 onwards are carried out at the National Sports Training Center, and the Hanoi National Sports Training Center pays for coaches' expenses according to regulations .

According to Ms. Thuy, this is a very important lesson for the sports sector. In particular, it serves as a warning to those involved in training young athletes who haven't truly prioritized training and the well-being of the athletes, instead focusing on personal gain.

Hanh Le - Mai Phuong

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