Ho Chi Minh City women's club (center) during their loss to Wuhan Jiangda - Photo: NK
To compete on the continental stage, it's difficult for the Ho Chi Minh City women's club to compete with the top professional women's clubs in Asia.
A rewarding tournament.
However, coach Doan Thi Kim Chi and her team performed very well to qualify for the semi-finals of the AFC Women's Champions League 2024-2025. "We performed well thanks to the support of the leadership who provided training opportunities in South Korea and Hanoi , as well as the enthusiastic encouragement of the fans."
"In the quarter-final match against Abu Dhabi at Thong Nhat Stadium, even though the team was trailing 0-3 in the first half, not a single fan left. That was a huge motivation, and thanks to that, we staged a spectacular comeback to win 5-4," Coach Kim Chi shared.
Having been eliminated in the semi-finals after losing 0-2 to hosts Wuhan Jiangda, coach Kim Chi couldn't hide his regret: "Because it was their first time competing in a continental tournament, some young players lost confidence when they progressed further in the competition, and therefore couldn't fully utilize the strengths they had shown in the group stage or quarter-finals."
This is unfortunate, but I hope that through this tournament, the young players will gain more confidence to become key players for the team in the future."
Underinvesting compared to competitors.
Besides the Ho Chi Minh City women's club, all three semi-finalists are professional clubs from Australia, South Korea, and China. All three have modern facilities and high-quality domestic and foreign players. Compared to them, the Ho Chi Minh City women's club lags behind in terms of investment, expertise, and player physique.
Specifically, all three teams—the first team, the youth team, and the talent team—of the Ho Chi Minh City women's club train on the artificial turf at Tao Dan Stadium. Only before entering tournaments does the first team get to train on the natural grass pitch at Hoa Lu Stadium. Due to limited funds, hiring foreign players is only possible on a short-term basis, and the salaries are moderate, making it difficult to expect the quality they desire.
The three American foreign players hired by the Ho Chi Minh City women's team for the group stage were paid around $1,300 per month. Despite their relatively good quality, they couldn't be extended for the quarter-finals or semi-finals as they couldn't wait. As for the foreign players in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, they were all only paid $1,000 per month.
Compared to foreign players from other teams on the continent, the price is much lower. However, short-term contracts make it difficult for foreign players to integrate into the team's playing style in a short period of time. Meanwhile, all three other clubs in the semi-finals signed long-term contracts with their foreign players.
We need better preparation.
Clubs participating in the National Championship and National Cup will be allowed to hire one foreign player from the 2026 season. But that's a year from now, while the Ho Chi Minh City women's club must prepare now as the AFC Women's Champions League 2025-2026 will kick off next November.
Therefore, making changes to close the gap with continental clubs is not simple. "The arrival of foreign players has greatly improved the team's morale. Domestic players have learned a lot from the foreign players. But when they heard that we would only sign short-term contracts, the good foreign players were all reluctant," said Coach Kim Chi.
For now, coach Kim Chi believes that improving the quality of the current domestic players is the top priority: "After this tournament, the players must be more conscious in training and confident in themselves, so that the team does not rely too much on foreign players. I also hope that the club will receive investment to have better personnel and facilities, and quality training camps to prepare for the second season."
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/clb-nu-tp-hcm-can-co-them-dau-tu-20250523085024133.htm
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