The story of how athletes celebrate Tet (Lunar New Year).

Due to the nature of their profession, which involves constant training and competition throughout the year, including during Tet (Lunar New Year), athletes always celebrate the new year in different ways.

Glory comes with silent sacrifices.

Lunar New Year is a time for everyone to return home to reunite with their families and rest after a year of hard work. However, those involved in sports have unique circumstances, constantly training and competing throughout the year, leaving almost no time for rest. In fact, for many athletes, celebrating Tet away from home is a very familiar experience as they are caught up in the whirlwind of training and competition abroad.

Athletes receive virtually no Lunar New Year bonus. Photo: Ngoc Tu

On the morning of February 16th, the Vietnamese women's futsal team arrived in Japan for a training camp in preparation for the 2026 Southeast Asian Women's Futsal Championship, which will begin on February 24th in Thailand. Our team will enter the tournament as the defending champions. Therefore, the entire team is in high spirits and determined, despite the upcoming Lunar New Year (Year of the Horse).

According to the plan, head coach Nguyen Dinh Hoang and his team will have two friendly matches against Bardral Urayasu Club, one of the Japanese futsal teams known for its fast-paced and skillful style of play, on February 17th and 19th.

A small joy leading up to the Lunar New Year is that many athletes have received bonuses and lucky money from their clubs, governing bodies, or social contributions. For example, recently, former Chairman of Thanh Hoa Club, Nguyen Van De, decided to allocate 300 million VND from the company's fund to reward the players of his hometown team, providing them with extra motivation and a small token of joy before the New Year.

In reality, athletes' primary source of income comes from salaries, allowances, or performance-based bonuses. If they don't win medals or aren't part of a key national team, many athletes only receive enough support to cover basic living expenses. Furthermore, the majority of athletes rely on daily wages for training and competition. When they are sidelined for extended periods or suffer injuries, their income decreases significantly.

Following the recent SEA Games 33, the total prize money for athletes reached over 31.6 billion VND as stipulated by the State. Teams that won many medals, such as rowing, athletics, swimming, jujitsu, shooting, and the Vietnam U22 team, received quite high rewards. In particular, the players of the Vietnam U23 team, who performed successfully at SEA Games 33 and the 2026 AFC U23 Championship, earned a stable income. Outstanding individuals such as shooter Trinh Thu Vinh and swimmer Vo Thi My Tien also received rewards commensurate with their achievements.

As the year draws to a close, the atmosphere of spring fills the air everywhere, yet the stadiums remain brightly lit. Many teams maintain their normal training schedules to prepare for the tournaments at the beginning of the year. After training sessions, athletes take the opportunity to tidy up their rooms, decorating with a few peach blossom branches and small kumquat trees to add a touch of Tet (Vietnamese New Year) flavor even while far from home.

Meanwhile, many athletes have returned home to celebrate Tet (Lunar New Year) with their families for a brief period. Some athletes travel hundreds of kilometers just to be home for a few days before returning to their teams to continue their pursuit of glory. Many young athletes share that for them, Tet simply means getting to sleep in a little longer, eating a home-cooked meal, and chatting with loved ones.

After a year of grueling training, those seemingly ordinary things become a source of immense happiness. They also serve as motivation for them to continue on to a new, rigorous training cycle—where glory always comes with silent sacrifices.

A new turning point for high-performance sports.

Many experts and insiders believe that for sustainable sports development, there needs to be a more stable compensation policy, ensuring a minimum standard of living for athletes, especially during the period before their achievements or after retirement. This would help athletes worry less about their basic needs so they can fully dedicate themselves to their sport.

From February 15, 2026, Government Decree 349/2025/ND-CP, which regulates the regime and policies for members of sports teams participating in concentrated training and competitions, will come into effect, replacing Government Decree 152/2018/ND-CP dated November 7, 2018. Vietnamese sports coaches and athletes will receive significant attention.

Specifically, the bonuses and salaries for coaches and athletes have been significantly increased. According to Decree 349/2025/ND-CP, an Olympic gold medalist will receive 3.5 billion VND, an Olympic silver medalist will receive 2.2 billion VND, and an Olympic bronze medalist will receive 1.4 billion VND. Meanwhile, for the Asian Games, each athlete will receive 280 million VND, 170 million VND, and 110 million VND respectively for a gold, silver, and bronze medal. Each Asian Games record will receive an additional 110 million VND in bonuses.

Meanwhile, athletes participating in the SEA Games will receive bonuses of 54 million VND, 30 million VND, and 24 million VND respectively for each Gold, Silver, and Bronze medal. A SEA Games record will be rewarded with 24 million VND.

Also in the Decree, the daily wage (salary) for each national team athlete is 550,000 VND, while each national youth team player receives 430,000 VND. Preliminary figures show that, based on the number of working days per month, each national team athlete will receive over 14 million VND in wages, while a national youth team player will receive over 11 million VND. In addition, the head coach of the national team will receive a daily wage (salary) of 1,100,000 VND, while other national team coaches will receive 750,000 VND per day.

The decree is a necessary and strategically significant step towards the sustainable development of Vietnamese sports. In the context of the country's sports sector focusing its efforts on major competitions such as the Olympics and Asian Games, ensuring that coaches and athletes can "make a living" and eventually "live well" from their profession becomes a prerequisite for retaining and developing high-quality human resources. Beyond its immediate significance, this decree also contributes to creating long-term motivation, helping those involved in sports feel secure and committed to their profession, dedicating themselves wholeheartedly to training and competition. When their livelihoods are secured, they can then aim for higher goals, thereby enhancing the position of Vietnamese sports on the international stage.

"

Since 2024, Hanoi has implemented a special regime for high-achieving coaches and athletes. Accordingly, athletes called up to the national team receive a responsibility allowance of 7 million VND/person/month; national youth team members receive 5 million VND/month. Athletes who win medals at the Olympics, Asian Games, SEA Games, or National Sports Games can receive regular allowances ranging from 7 to 74.5 million VND/month – depending on their level and achievements. Athletes who qualify for the Olympics or the World Cup receive support of 17 million VND/month during the Olympic or World Cup period.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/chuyen-don-tet-cua-van-dong-vien-733804.html