As of June 12, the country has 34 provincial-level administrative units, including 28 provinces and 6 cities. Of these, 19 provinces and 4 cities were formed after the reorganization. However, this change will not have any impact on Vietnamese football.
Comply with FIFA standards
The licensing regulations for Vietnamese professional football clubs are based on principles set by the International Football Federation (FIFA), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), in accordance with Vietnamese law and the charter of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF).
Accordingly, FIFA stipulates standards for professional football clubs including aspects such as facilities, personnel, finance and competition rules. These standards are applied to all professional football clubs worldwide to ensure professionalism, fairness and safety in football tournaments.
FIFA requires clubs to have a stable financial source to maintain operations, including paying salaries to players, coaches, team staff, investing in facilities and other expenses. Professional football clubs must be open and transparent in their financial reports, comply with accounting and auditing regulations.
In developed football countries around the world, the number of participating teams is classified according to each tournament system, many in the lower leagues and will gradually decrease when reaching the top national professional tournaments. Vietnamese football is going against the general trend, when the First Division has fewer teams competing than the V-League. However, the Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF) and the Organizing Committee of Vietnam Professional Football Tournaments have made a decision in the regulations of the national professional football tournaments next season 2025-2026 to help make the V-League more professional.
Ho Chi Minh City Club (left) and Binh Duong Club (right). Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong merged but can still maintain two separate teams. (Photo: QUOC AN)
VPF General Director Nguyen Minh Ngoc said: "In the 2025-2026 V-League, the teams ranked 13th and 14th overall will be directly relegated and the top two teams in the First Division will be directly promoted, there will be no play-off matches like in previous seasons. This requires clubs to focus on preparing their forces early and invest more to compete for the championship or defend their place in the V-League."
This important decision of VFF as well as VPF helps to purify football teams and clubs that operate in a "quick-fix" manner, without direction or long-term operational plans.
Own multiple teams at the same time
In world football, there are many cities that own up to 3 professional football teams at the same time. Manchester United and Manchester City are both football icons of the foggy country, representing the city of Manchester in the Premier League. Similarly, the capital of England, London, has many top clubs such as Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
Milan (Italy) has two football teams with rich history and achievements, including Inter Milan and AC Milan. Meanwhile, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are the pride of football in the capital Madrid in particular, and Spain in general. Therefore, it is not uncommon for a province or city to have many professional football clubs. These teams have separate financial activities, following the business model, not using the state budget.
In V-League, Hanoi City currently owns 3 clubs: Hanoi FC, The Cong Viettel and Hanoi Police. Although these teams are from the same city, they have their own competitive identities, creating attractive capital derbies that attract viewers.
Similarly, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong or Ba Ria - Vung Tau clubs all have different playing styles and players with their own identities, so they cannot merge into a team based on province or city to compete in a tournament.
Sharing about the merger of professional football clubs by province or city, a football expert analyzed: "Each professional club needs to have a sustainable development plan, not depending on local mergers. Professional football operates under the mechanism of a joint stock company, so the more football teams a locality has, the better."
More opportunities
Gia Lai province currently has Hoang Anh Gia Lai Club and Binh Dinh province has Quy Nhon Binh Dinh Club, both competing in the V-League. Before the merger of the two provinces, Mr. Nguyen Tan Anh, CEO of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Club, said that the club is owned by Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, a private enterprise. Therefore, the merger of the provinces will not affect the overall operation of the football team. Leaders of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Gia Lai believe that the merger of Gia Lai and Binh Dinh provinces will create a number of development opportunities for football teams. Among them, the big advantages are creating a large market, thereby making it easier for football teams to find sponsoring businesses.
Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Trong Thao, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Da Nang City, said that he is still waiting for the results of the 2024-2025 V-League season of the two clubs SHB Da Nang and QNK Quang Nam to make a proposal to higher levels. However, the current activities of the two clubs are funded by sponsors, including youth training, so the team name and fan club will remain the same.
H.Thanh - H.Dinh
Source: https://nld.com.vn/kho-co-chuyen-sap-nhap-doi-bong-196250617214622474.htm
Comment (0)