Panorama of My Dinh National Stadium - Photo: NK
The Japan Football Association (JFA) has proposed a plan to join forces with countries from the East Asia (EAFF) and Southeast Asia (AFF) regions to jointly submit a bid to host the 2046 World Cup to FIFA.
Accordingly, the three East Asian representatives to host are Japan, South Korea and China. Meanwhile, the four AFF representatives proposed are Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Vietnam was not selected.
This is also understandable when Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore all have extremely modern and standard sports facilities. In particular, there are many stadiums with much larger capacity than Vietnam. The experience of organizing international tournaments of these countries is also much greater than Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Vietnam only has My Dinh National Stadium (over 40,000 seats) as the largest.
But My Dinh National Stadium has seriously degraded, and its architecture is much more outdated than other stadiums in the region. The renovation also encountered many obstacles in terms of budget, management and investment procedures.
Infrastructure is not yet available
Reader Tran Quang Dinh commented: "Up to now, our sports facilities are still lacking, so it is right not to propose."
Two other readers also commented similarly: Vietnam does not have any standard stadiums. The infrastructure is not up to the mark.
The grass at My Dinh National Stadium is very bad, causing public backlash at AFF Cup 2022 - Photo: NK
On the other hand, a reader named Tam mentioned his experience at My Dinh National Stadium: "Sorry, I only used the restroom at My Dinh Stadium once and was scared for the rest of my life. I'd rather keep quiet than go in...".
Reader Hai Huynh shared more: "The reality is exactly as Tuoi Tre newspaper reported that currently in V-League, teams are mainly improving the pitch, but in general the stadium is very old.
"There is no stadium in Vietnam that meets international standards in terms of capacity, turf, and other infrastructure," reader Trung added.
Reader Hai emphasized: "Vietnam needs to have infrastructure, playgrounds, hotels, information systems, hospitals, healthcare , organizations... and people to do it."
Opportunity to review the level of investment in sports facilities
Many readers believe that this is the time for Vietnam to review the level of investment in sports facilities, especially stadiums.
Specifically, according to reader Le Hai, "this is also an opportunity for us to look back at Vietnam's stadium facilities. If we don't rebuild them, we won't have enough opportunity to host a World Cup match by 2050."
Seats at My Dinh National Stadium at AFF Cup 2022 - Photo: NK
Agreeing, reader Son Nguyen also said: "We need to have a plan to build and develop infrastructure for our country's sports."
"Football needs good, sustainable infrastructure to be able to compete with Southeast Asia," another reader commented.
However, there are also optimistic opinions about the prospect of Vietnam being able to join the World Cup hosting alliance.
Reader Mr. Hien said: "Maybe now in terms of infrastructure such as transportation system, Vietnam's stadium is not good compared to the 4 selected Southeast Asian countries. But by 2046, hopefully Vietnam will also be selected."
However, this opinion attracted debate, as reader TK Tinh wrote: "The earliest would be 2054. For each World Cup, FIFA considers it a long time before."
Reader with account Tuan 123 commented: "We should cut our coat according to our cloth. After all, the World Cup is the dream of many generations, but our resources are not enough to meet it, so we have to accept it. To be honest, if we are currently planning to build a stadium of the right stature, it is not necessarily advisable. Because what do we have now to participate in the World Cup?"
Vietnamese fans enter My Dinh National Stadium at SEA Games 31 - Photo: NK
Prioritize economic development over hosting the World Cup
Many readers believe that Vietnam should prioritize investment in other areas instead of football. "Why invest money in developing the country, why build a stadium?", wrote a reader named Thanh.
Some opinions also say that if we cannot host the World Cup, we will do other things. During this time, Vietnam should still prioritize further development, waiting for the next opportunity.
We focus resources on investing in infrastructure, hospitals, schools, highways, metro... Our country focuses on building infrastructure to create a solid foundation for the future, so hosting the World Cup is not necessary now.
A reader also emphasized: "We prioritize the things that need to be done first such as economy, infrastructure, education, health care, transportation, communications..., we should not run after things that are not urgent. When we are richer, we will be able to do it."
"Right now is not the time to invest too much in infrastructure for a sporting event, we are still too far away. Let's invest in economic development, when the country develops to its full potential, then think about it," reader Luc Nguyen expressed his opinion.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/viet-nam-muon-dang-cai-world-cup-lo-phat-trien-kinh-te-truoc-khi-xay-san-van-dong-xung-tam-2025072209503858.htm
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