Urgent need
It has been 7 years since Decree 152/2018/ND-CP dated November 7, 2018 of the Government regulating the regime for coaches and athletes during the training period was issued. As soon as this Decree was issued, people in the profession considered it a big step forward in the treatment of coaches and athletes. From here, there is a basis for coaches and athletes to feel secure in their dedication. Previously, many localities also encountered difficulties in increasing the regime, including food and training allowances for athletes, despite having funding sources.
But since then, although the policy for coaches and athletes has contributed to a certain extent to stabilizing the national team as well as many other localities, the general income level is still low compared to the cost of living and the social level. For example, at the national team level, with a salary of 505,000 VND/day for the head coach, the national team coach receives 375,000 VND/day; the head coach of the youth team receives 375,000 VND/person/day; the youth team coach receives 270,000 VND/person/day... many people in the profession have to struggle to support themselves with their professional work.
This is even more evident in localities, where coaches of national teams of sectors, provinces and centrally run cities receive 215,000 VND/day; coaches of youth teams of sectors, provinces and centrally run cities receive 180,000 VND/day; coaches of gifted teams receive 180,000 VND/person/day.
Meanwhile, the salary regime for athletes has also declined, although in 2018 it was considered acceptable. Accordingly, currently national team athletes receive 270,000 VND/day; national youth team athletes receive 215,000 VND/day; athletes of industry, provincial and centrally-run city teams receive 180,000 VND/day... With the above salary, athletes have a really low income, especially compared to the current price level. Many of them are also married and have their own lives. If we only rely on the income from training and competition, it will certainly not be enough, leading to difficulty in wholeheartedly training.
In many conferences and seminars organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam Sports Administration, many experts have mentioned this issue, considering it one of the many bottlenecks that need to be resolved to motivate coaches and athletes to devote themselves. "If the regime for coaches and athletes reaches the average income level of society, many families will be willing to let their children practice sports. And reality has shown that coaches or athletes must be able to live on the income from their profession in order for them to wholeheartedly practice and compete," commented sports expert Nguyen Hong Minh (former Head of the Department of High Performance Sports 1, General Department of Sports and Physical Training - now the Vietnam Sports and Physical Training Department).
In fact, with a salary of 6-7 million VND/month for first-line athletes in Hanoi before 2024, many people only rely on bonuses when they achieve results, creating great economic pressure. The average monthly income of athletes (including food and wages) is only about 12 million VND - lower than the income level of many other professions, making pursuing professional sports a gamble for the future.
Need to resonate
Recently, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued a Plan to develop a Decree regulating a number of regimes for sports coaches and athletes during training and competition periods (replacing Decree No. 152/2018/ND-CP dated November 7, 2018 of the Government).
For managers of the Sports industry, this is a highly anticipated step to establish a new remuneration mechanism, closer to real life, helping coaches and athletes to fully focus on training and competition. From there, contributing to helping the industry meet current professional requirements.
Of course, if there is only central policy without real participation from localities - where direct management and training are carried out - the effectiveness will not be high. While waiting for a strong change in the treatment of coaches and athletes according to Government documents so that there is a "guiding stick" for implementation, the sectors and localities themselves must also have continuous advocacy in this area.
Most recently, while waiting for a new policy for coaches and athletes when they are gathered and trained, Hanoi city has proactively made strong changes. Accordingly, from January 1, 2024, the capital city officially applied a new resolution on special attraction and treatment regimes for coaches and athletes with high achievements. In particular, those summoned to national teams will receive a responsibility allowance of 7 million VND/person/month; the national youth team is 5 million VND/person/month. For athletes who win medals at the Olympics, ASIAD, SEA Games or National Sports Festival, the monthly allowance ranges from 7 million to 74.5 million VND - depending on the level and achievement...
This new policy contributes to retaining talent, preventing the phenomenon of "bleeding" of forces to units with better treatment... Many Hanoi athletes affirmed that the above policy is a strong motivation for me and my teammates to continue to stick with and contribute to Hanoi and Vietnam sports. According to the records of Hanoi sports department managers, many athletes have completely focused on training to achieve results and be called to the national team. Thereby, there is an opportunity to improve income, at the same time helping Hanoi sports aim for the unprecedented goal of winning Olympic medals to raise the status of the capital's sports.
There will be many seminars to contribute opinions to create a new Decree on the regime for coaches and athletes, to be a real boost for high-performance sports. But one thing is certain, for that policy to become a real boost, it needs the resonance from the provinces, cities and ministries in charge. Each locality needs to be flexible in using financial resources, skillfully applying specific mechanisms to build a suitable remuneration system, helping coaches and athletes "live" with their profession, "live well" when they have achievements, thereby creating more sustainable achievements for Vietnamese sports.
Hope to have a new Decree by the end of 2025
At the request of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in June 2025, the Sports sector (with the focal point being the Vietnam Sports Administration) will draft documents as well as draft submissions to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to submit to the Government, seek opinions and complete the documents.
And if everything goes well, it is hoped that a new Government Decree regulating a number of regimes for sports coaches and athletes during training and competition periods will be issued by the end of 2025, to be implemented from 2026.
Minh Khue
Source: https://cand.com.vn/the-thao/hy-vong-vao-cu-hich-ve-che-do-dai-ngo-doi-voi-huan-luyen-vien-van-dong-vien-i771304/
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