Vietnam athletics aims for Asiad gold medal

Vietnam athletics aims for Asiad gold medal - Photo 1.

The 8th Congress of the Vietnam Athletics Federation (2025-2029) clearly defined key goals: achieving results at the 33rd - 35th SEA Games, ASIAD 2026 and Olympics 2028 - Photo: HOANG TUNG

On the morning of April 25 in Hanoi , the Congress of the Vietnam Athletics Federation for the 8th term (2025-2029) elected a new executive committee of 19 members.

Mr. Hoang Ve Dung continues to be trusted to hold the position of President of the Federation for the third consecutive term. Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung also continues to be trusted to hold the role of General Secretary of the Federation.

In the previous term (2019 - 2024), the Vietnam Athletics Federation (VAF) made many efforts to expand the movement, improve top sports achievements and gradually improve the organization. However, one of the biggest bottlenecks pointed out was the ineffective exploitation of revenue sources to ensure sustainability and professionalism in operations.

Limited revenue

According to VAF's financial report, the revenue of the previous term mainly came from membership fees, management and measurement fees for marathon races, state support associated with assigned tasks, and sponsorship from domestic and foreign organizations.

Two notable sources of revenue include the annual subsidy from the World Athletics Federation, with the amount received in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 totaling 87,229 USD (about 2.2 billion VND), and the sponsorship contract from the Lining brand for 2023 and 2024 totaling 212,454 USD (about 5.5 billion VND).

With the proceeds, VAF spent on professional activities such as: organizing international tournaments, training courses for coaches, referees, and managers; hiring foreign experts; and bonuses according to regulations for athletes with excellent achievements at the Asiad, SEA Games, and reaching Olympic standards.

VAF’s financial report shows that there are still many potential revenue channels that have not been exploited, such as: asset leasing, image copyright, and selling television copyright for athletics tournaments. Sponsorship mobilization is mainly seasonal, based on the prestige of current leaders without a specialized department or long-term strategy.

This makes it difficult for VAF to maintain long-term professional activities, such as investing in youth training systems, inviting international experts to train, or upgrading facilities.

Big challenges in the new term

Over the years, Vietnamese athletics has affirmed its position as the top team in Southeast Asia when it won the overall title at SEA Games 30 (2019) and SEA Games 31 (2022).

At the 32nd SEA Games (2023), although only ranked second, Vietnamese athletics with 12 gold medals still contributed to helping the Vietnamese sports delegation maintain its position in the top group of the region. However, when entering the continental and world sports events, Vietnamese athletics came up empty-handed at the 19th Asian Games and the 2024 Olympics.

Vietnam athletics - Photo 2.

At the age of 30, athlete Nguyen Thi Oanh is still the most promising star of Vietnamese athletics - Photo: DUC KHUE

The reason is the lack of a younger generation to succeed the names who have just retired from their careers such as Nguyen Thi Huyen and Bui Thi Thu Thao. The burden of current achievements almost entirely depends on the legs of the pillars who are about to pass their prime such as Nguyen Thi Oanh, Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc, Nguyen Linh Na, and Nguyen Thi Hang.

In addition, Vietnamese athletics has not invested in throwing, pushing, and jumping events. Outdated facilities, lack of coaches and highly qualified experts are also weaknesses that need to be overcome.

Currently, athletics is a sport with a high possibility of being approved by the Government as a key sport in the Program for developing key sports to prepare for the Olympics and ASIAD in the period 2026-2046.

If this becomes a reality, experts expect Vietnamese athletics to have a boost for development. Especially when entering the 8th term (2025 - 2029), the Vietnam Athletics Federation clearly identifies key goals: achieving achievements at the 33rd - 35th SEA Games, ASIAD 2026 and the 2028 Olympics.

Sharing after the congress, General Secretary Nguyen Manh Hung said: "In the new term, Vietnamese athletics will participate in 3 SEA Games (2025, 2027, 2029) and 2 Asiad (2026, 2030). The highest goal is to win the Asiad gold medal."