HCMC Women's Club Bonuses Are Ambiguous, Coach Kim Chi Calls for Transparency

(NLDO) - Setting a milestone and affirming the position of Vietnamese women's football, the players of the Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club said they have not heard anything specific about the bonus from AFC.

At the 2024-2025 AFC Women's Champions League (Asian Women's Cup), each participating team will receive 3 amounts of money including: travel expenses (for the away team), performance bonus for each match (in the group stage) and bonus for each round.

Based on the regulations, Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club has entered the semi-finals of the Asian Women's C1, so it will receive 340,000 USD (more than 8.8 billion VND) for participation fees by round, performance bonuses/match from the group stage to the present time.

However, veteran female center back of Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club, Chuong Thi Kieu, said she and the team still have no information about the above bonuses.

"The team members play sports not only for passion, but also for economic reasons. That is the motivation every time they compete, helping the team members improve their lives. If the team competes well, they should receive the announced bonuses soon. That is also the motivation for the whole team before entering the semi-finals" - Chuong Thi Kieu expressed.

Chuong Thi Kieu and her teammates had a dramatic match to bring Ho Chi Minh City women's team into the semi-finals of the 2024-2025 Asian Women's Cup C1

The team has contacted the coaching staff and management board many times to ask about the time to receive the bonus but has not received an official response. According to coach Kim Chi, AFC will disburse the money in each round to serve the tournament's activities, but after more than half a month of discussion with the management board, all questions have not been answered.

"From the group stage to the quarter-finals, the players have worked very hard for the flag and the fans of Ho Chi Minh City women's football. In the tournament, AFC has provided support money and very high bonuses, which is also a motivation to help the players work hard. However, up to now, it is still unknown how much money the team has left after deducting the tournament expenses. I have also discussed with the leaders about your questions, but after more than half a month, there has been no response" - this female strategist said.

Despite problems with bonuses, HCMC female strikers are still focusing on reaching the semi-finals of the Asian Women's C1.

Coach Kim Chi emphasized: "We hope the Board of Directors will soon make public the remaining amount and give more rewards to the players, who have worked hard throughout the journey."

The total amount of 340,000 USD from AFC for Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club includes: 40,000 USD for performance bonus (20,000 USD/win in the group stage); 100,000 USD for participation in the group stage; 80,000 USD for a place in the quarterfinals; 120,000 USD for participation in the semi-finals.

According to AFC regulations, the above amount will be sent by AFC to the representative association, unless the member association or the AFC secretariat has specified otherwise according to Article 56.2 of the AFC Women's Champions League.

Meanwhile, regular payments from federations, the HCM City People's Committee and the HCM City Department of Culture and Sports are in the process of being processed.

Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club is currently focusing on preparation and just had its first friendly match at Thong Nhat Stadium on the afternoon of April 24.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/cau-thu-clb-nu-tp-hcm-chua-nhan-thuong-sau-chien-tich-cup-c1-chau-a-196250425173813593.htm