Hoa Binh Club: 2 times refused, uncertain future

Hoa Binh Club failed to apply to play for Hung Yen and Phu Tho. Most recently, this team also requested to withdraw from the national professional league system, forcing VPF to redraw the code and schedule of the First Division.

ups and downs

It was a restless summer for Hoa Binh Club, before the latest announcement extinguished the flame of hope that was still flickering in the minds of some members of the team. The flow of emotions towards Hoa Binh Club followed a sine wave graph. In July, some members of the club received rumors about the possibility of the team disbanding, although the Board of Directors did not officially announce the cessation of activities or withdrawal from the national professional league system.

Hoa Binh Club withdrew from the professional league after being rejected twice.

This comes from the failed attempt of Hoa Binh Club to join and change its name to Hung Yen FC. In addition, financial difficulties have also caused the Northwestern team to go through a difficult period.

The situation became more positive at the end of August, when Hoa Binh Club asked for the opinion of the leaders of Phu Tho Provincial People's Committee about changing the name to Phu Tho Club and moving the home stadium to Viet Tri. In addition, the team also submitted a complete list of registration documents to VPF and the National First Division and National Cup Organizing Committee. This is proof of Hoa Binh Club's readiness for the new season.

It is known that on the morning of September 5, the leaders of Phu Tho province met and encouraged the team, after which the club announced the change of name to Phu Tho and launched a new logo on social networks. Two days later, the team played a friendly match with the V.League champion - Nam Dinh . It was thought that everything had gone smoothly for the representative of Thanh Nam, but suddenly on September 8, Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF) announced that Hoa Binh Club sent a document requesting to withdraw from the National First Division and National Cup season 2025/26, just 4 days before the opening match. Based on the document sent to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and VPF, the team cited "force majeure" as the reason for not being able to continue participating in professional tournaments this season.

According to the investigation, Hoa Binh Club could not find a common voice with the sponsor, revolving around some management and financial factors. That caused Hoa Binh Club to lose the support of this sponsor. Invisibly, the Northwest football team was forced to leave the professional football field.

The fate of Hoa Binh Club after the above announcement is not clear. However, many Vietnamese football teams before when facing the same situation as Hoa Binh have disappeared from the map of Vietnamese football. For now, the team that benefits from Hoa Binh's withdrawal is Khanh Hoa. Because the two teams originally met in the preliminary round of the National Cup on September 12. In addition, on the morning of September 11, the draw and schedule of the 2025/26 First Division will also be re-conducted.

Phu Tho still has a football team

On the same afternoon when Hoa Binh announced its withdrawal from the national professional league, Phu Tho province also welcomed another team to replace it. Accordingly, Gia Dinh Club will be transferred to Phu Tho. The team will also change its name to Xuan Thien Phu Tho. The "boss" who once turned Nam Dinh into a dragon will continue to invest in a young club in the First Division.

It is known that Kenos Joint Stock Company - the management unit of Gia Dinh Club - sent a dispatch to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) about changing the name, shares and changing the members of the board of directors. Accordingly, the team will return to Phu Tho to compete under the name "Xuan Thien Phu Tho" managed by Xuan Thien Phu Tho Joint Stock Company (XTPT).

Along with that, Gia Dinh Club will change its logo and identity from yellow to blue. This logo is very similar to Nam Dinh Club. And on the evening of September 8, all members of Gia Dinh Club moved to Viet Tri (Phu Tho) to prepare for the handover. More notably, Mr. Tran Tien Dai - who holds 50% of Gia Dinh Club's shares and is also Chairman of the Board of Directors - also resigned all positions to give way to Mr. Vu Van Nga, who holds 90% of XTPT Company's shares.

Regarding professional personnel, Gia Dinh Club will "hand over" all players and coaching staff to XTPT to prepare for the new season. VFF and VPF will re-organize the first division draw on September 11. With Gia Dinh Club suddenly changing its residence, VFF will likely review the Vietnam Professional Football Regulations and the exception licensing regulations.

Vietnamese football over the past 25 years has witnessed many similar transfers. For example, Hai Phong bought back Khanh Hoa's place and merged their forces to successfully stay in the V.League 2012. Or recently, Hong Linh Ha Tinh Club also appeared after transferring from Hanoi B.

Difficult for Dong Nai

Last year, Dong Nai (formerly known as Binh Phuoc) missed out on a direct promotion ticket to V.League after finishing behind Ninh Binh and losing in the play-off match. Therefore, this year, Dong Nai invested in its forces, bringing in former national players such as Xuan Truong and Minh Vuong. Through that, coach Nguyen Viet Thang and his team are determined to be promoted to V.League 2025/26 in a proper way.

However, Dong Nai will face two difficult obstacles, Bac Ninh and Phu Tho. In particular, Phu Tho Club will likely borrow some good players from Nam Dinh in the second phase of the season. At that time, the challenge for Dong Nai in the hope of winning a ticket to the V.League next season will be even more difficult.

It is not yet clear what position Phu Tho Club will aim for in the National First Division after the transfer. But clearly, with the potential investments in both human and financial resources coming, the opportunity for Phu Tho to become a force in the First Division is very bright.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/van-hoa/clb-hoa-binh-2-lan-tu-choi-tuong-lai-mit-mo-i781097/