This season, top-level football welcomes three new names: Phu Dong Ninh Binh , PVF-CAND, and the return of the Ho Chi Minh City Police team. This could be the beginning of more far-reaching changes, as many localities are now looking to invest heavily in professional football.
Signs of change emerged from the National Super Cup match between CAHN and Nam Dinh last weekend. This was the third consecutive season opening match without the presence of Hanoi FC – the team holding the record with 6 national championships and participating in 7 out of 10 Super Cup matches since 2022. Hanoi FC still maintains its position in the top group, but power has been divided.
In the last five seasons, Hanoi has only won the title once, in contrast to five championships in the ten seasons prior. Over the past five years, the V-League has also had three different champions. This is an unprecedented number if we consider each five-year cycle.
Furthermore, the championships won by The Cong Viettel (2020), CAHN (2023), and Nam Dinh (2024, 2025) all represent a strong comeback for teams with a rich history, a well-deserved result of the systematic investment in Vietnamese professional football today.
This will be a driving force for social investment in football, especially in some localities that, after mergers, have changed in terms of economic potential and have seen an increase in the demand for enjoying football matches among the population.
The diversity in the championship race is increasing the competitiveness of the V-League, which in turn increases its attractiveness to draw spectators to domestic football.
Statistics show that, despite a decrease compared to the pre-Covid-19 period, the average attendance of the V-League remains the highest in Southeast Asia, surpassing the Thai-League, Indonesia Liga, and Malaysia Super League. The addition of more ambitious teams, more high-profile matches, and local derby games are the magnets that draw fans to watch domestic football.
The 2025-2026 season is therefore expected to be pivotal, propelling the V-League towards its goal of becoming the leading championship in Southeast Asia and increasing the number of quality teams representing Vietnam in regional and continental club competitions.
Over 50% of the teams participating in this year's tournament have declared their intention to win the championship, while newly promoted teams like Ninh Binh and PVF-CAND have also strengthened their squads, refusing to be outdone by the more experienced teams.
However, the greatest expectation for the 2025-2026 V-League is to narrow the gap and create balance between regional football across the country. For the first time in the history of the national championship, localities from Da Nang southward will only have 4 representatives playing in the top division, including 2 teams from Ho Chi Minh City.
Meanwhile, this marks the fourth consecutive season that football from the Mekong Delta has been absent from the V-League. If this imbalance remains unchanged, in the long run, a large, densely populated region with a strong production and consumption market and a long football tradition, unable to access many top-level matches, will inevitably suffer. This will lead to a decline in football interest and ultimately cause the entire training system to cease functioning due to poor input and output.
Hopefully, the championship race and the resurgence of established names will act as a catalyst and source of inspiration for many newly merged localities to invest more, think creatively, and find ways to attract social resources to participate in the development of local football. The more professional clubs there are, the more the national football team will surely benefit.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/cho-doi-thay-tich-cuc-o-mua-bong-moi-post808605.html
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