Vietnamese players of overseas origin and naturalized citizens have more opportunities to compete in Vietnamese football.

Vietnamese expatriate and naturalized players will have more opportunities to compete in Vietnamese football as they will be allowed to participate in the 2026 National Second Division League, which will take place from March 2026.

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has just issued the regulations for the 2026 National Second Division League. Accordingly, the league will allow teams to register overseas Vietnamese players and naturalized players.

Photo: VFF.

Specifically, each team participating in the 2026 National Second Division League will be allowed to field two Vietnamese expatriate players who do not yet have Vietnamese citizenship and one naturalized player. This will be an opportunity for new Vietnamese expatriate players to showcase their abilities before they can compete in higher divisions of Vietnamese football.

The 2026 National Second Division League will take place from March 2026 to June 2026 with the participation of 14 teams. Nine teams from the 2025 National Second Division League will continue to participate this season, including Dak Lak, Can Tho, Lam Dong, Quang Ngai, PVF, Tay Ninh, Hanoi Youth, Da Nang Youth, and Vinh Long.

In addition, Hue, the team relegated from the 2024/2025 National First Division, along with four teams promoted from the 2025 National Third Division, namely Phu Dong Youth, Hanoi Police Youth, Ha Tinh Youth, and Gia Dinh, will also participate in the tournament.

The 14 clubs are divided into two groups based on geographical region and registered stadiums. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals to compete for three promotion spots to the First Division for the 2026/2027 season.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/cau-thu-viet-kieu-va-nhap-tich-co-them-co-hoi-tranh-tai-o-bong-da-viet-nam-20260211092519165.htm