A major breakthrough in prize money.

HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU GET FOR SETTING AN OLYMPIC RECORD?

On August 7th, under the chairmanship of the Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, a conference to gather expert opinions on the draft Decree replacing Decree No. 152/2018 dated November 7, 2018 of the Government regulating certain regimes for coaches and athletes during training camps and competitions, yielded many valuable opinions.

Cú đột phá lớn về tiền thưởng- Ảnh 1. — For Vietnamese sports to produce more Olympic champions like Hoang Xuan Vinh, the government needs a breakthrough in terms of remuneration and benefits.

For a long time, the issue of remuneration for coaches and athletes has been a hot topic. While the state's salary policy has been adjusted many times, the benefits for the sports sector have not been, leading to many difficulties in the lives of athletes. Decree 152, which stipulates some benefits for coaches and athletes during training camps and competitions, states that athletes at the national team level receive 270,000 VND/day, while young athletes receive 215,000 VND/day. This translates to an average monthly income of approximately 8 million VND for an athlete, while young athletes earn only about 6.45 million VND. According to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong, good policies are necessary to retain talent.

There have been breakthroughs in the draft amendment proposed by the Vietnam Sports Department, which is currently incorporating feedback from ministries, departments, and localities to finalize and revise it. Firstly, the prize money for medals has been increased by 4 to 10 times. Specifically, the prize money for an Olympic gold medal is proposed to increase from 350 million VND (stipulated in Decree 152) to 3.5 billion VND, an Olympic silver medal from 220 million VND to 1.75 billion VND, an Olympic bronze medal from 140 million VND to 875 million VND, and breaking an Olympic record is proposed to be rewarded 875 million VND (the old amount was 140 million VND).

At the ASIAD, the proposed prize money for a gold medal is to increase from 140 million VND to 700 million VND, for a silver medal from 85 million VND to 350 million VND, for a bronze medal from 55 million VND to 175 million VND, and for breaking an ASIAD record from 55 million VND to 175 million VND.

At the Youth Olympics, the proposed prize money for gold medals is increased from 80 million VND to 400 million VND, silver medals from 50 million VND to 200 million VND, bronze medals from 30 million VND to 100 million VND, and breaking records from 30 million VND to 100 million VND.

At the SEA Games, the increase, although slight, is still around 30% for each medal; for example, the prize money for a gold medal is proposed to be increased from 45 million VND to 60 million VND.

DOUBLING BENEFITS FOR ATHLETES AND COACHES

In the draft decree replacing the previous one, the allowances for athletes and coaches during training camps and competitions are also proposed to be doubled. National team athletes will receive 16 million VND/month (540,000 VND/day, instead of 270,000 VND/day), while young athletes will receive 13 million VND/month (430,000 VND/day, instead of 215,000 VND/day). Notably, female coaches and female athletes who are members of the national team, national youth team, or the youth teams of ministries, provinces, and centrally-administered cities will receive an allowance of 1.5 million VND/month.

Cú đột phá lớn về tiền thưởng- Ảnh 3. — Talented Vietnamese athletes need to be taken care of both physically and mentally.

Proposal for a special allowance for outstanding athletes: Olympic medalists would receive a monthly allowance of 40 million VND, while Asian Games gold medalists would receive 20 million VND per month. This allowance would be granted for four years, from the time of the Olympic achievement until the next Olympic Games. This is a very positive measure, allowing athletes to fully focus on their specialization and providing them with more motivation to reach the highest levels, without worrying about remuneration. Vietnamese sports can only attract talent if there are adequate policies that recognize the silent contributions, sacrifices, and risks that athletes face every day.

Another breakthrough in the draft is that coaches and athletes will receive a higher, specialized nutritional allowance during domestic training camps, with 405,000 VND/day for national team and national youth team athletes (a 40% increase compared to 290,000 VND/day).

In addition, coaches and athletes summoned to national sports teams to prepare for the SEA Games, ASIAD, and Olympics will receive a daily nutrition allowance of 607,000 VND for a period not exceeding 90 days. This is also a new feature, as Decree 152 only stipulated that athletes with the potential to win medals were entitled to a special nutrition allowance of 400,000 VND per day. This significant increase in nutrition allowance is expected to help athletes receive better nutrition and care, given that the nutritional content of Vietnamese athletes' meals remains modest and inconsistent compared to those of more developed sports nations.

ENSURING A FUTURE FOR ATHLETES AFTER RETIREMENT

Recently, Thanh Nien Newspaper published a series of articles titled "Behind the Spotlight ," reflecting the difficult and challenging lives of many top athletes after retirement. The articles argued that although the government and the sports sector have implemented policies to provide career guidance and employment opportunities for athletes after retirement, there are still areas that need improvement.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung once acknowledged that addressing employment for athletes after their peak performance remains challenging, primarily due to the fact that the career paths available to them are not suitable. Many athletes, after retirement, wish to pursue coaching or sports management, but only about 15% can do so because the number of coaches and managers needed is far less than the number of athletes. The rest will move on to new careers that may be unrelated to their training. To ensure athletes' future, both educational policies, cultural knowledge training, and vocational skills training need a new approach.

In the draft decree replacing the previous one, there is a breakthrough regarding policies on cultural training and employment for athletes: a proposal to allow athletes who achieve outstanding results in national or international sports competitions to be granted special consideration for graduation from junior high school or high school if the exam period coincides with the time the athlete trains abroad or participates in international sports competitions as stipulated by the Ministry of Education and Training.

The sports sector also proposed that athletes who win medals at the Olympic Games and ASIAD be entitled to the following policies: recruitment through the teacher recruitment process. The required training standards for this case are lower than the standard training requirements for teachers teaching at the corresponding educational level and training program; after being recruited as a teacher, they will be appointed to the position of teacher or lecturer and will be paid according to the regulations and policies for that position.

At the same time, athletes may be accepted as civil servants if they meet the application requirements and job requirements, or receive priority points in recruitment at sports facilities if they have sufficient qualifications and professional competence suitable for the recruitment requirements; during the probationary period, they will receive 100% of the salary and allowances of the professional title corresponding to the job position.

In addition, improvements to the welfare and insurance schemes for coaches and athletes are also proposed in the draft, aiming to maximize their rights. Currently, the draft decree replacing Decree 152 is still under discussion and feedback is being gathered for finalization before submission to the Government.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cu-soc-lon-ve-tien-thuong-185250807220437274.htm