Winners of Golden, Silver and Bronze Awards last year. The race for the 2024 Vietnamese Golden Ball Awards is intensifying as the award officially kicked off earlier this month. — Photo nld.com.vn

The race for the 2024 Vietnamese Golden Ball Awards is intensifying, with nominations, and exclusions, now causing much division.

This year, the award features 12 categories, including: Golden, Silver and Bronze Awards for men, Golden, Silver and Bronze Awards for women, Golden Ball, Silver Ball, and Bronze Ball for men’s futsal, Best Foreign Player, Best Young Male Player and Best Young Female Player.

The most intriguing category is the men's Vietnamese Golden Ball.

The organising committee has announced the preliminary nomination list, which includes last season's winners: Golden Ball recipient Nguyễn Hoàng Đức, Silver Ball winner Phạm Tuấn Hải, and Bronze Ball holder Đặng Văn Lâm. Notable additions to the list feature players such as Bùi Vĩ Hào (Bình Dương Club), Trần Nguyên Mạnh, Tô Văn Vũ and Nguyễn Phong Hồng Duy (Nam Định), Nguyễn Filip, Bùi Hoàng Việt Anh and Nguyễn Quang Hải (Hà Nội Police), as well as Nguyễn Thành Chung, Đỗ Hùng Dũng and Nguyễn Văn Quyết (Hà Nội).

This year marks a rare occasion with numerous nominations from the national first division tournament, V.League 2, including midfielder Nguyễn Hoàng Đức and goalkeeper Đặng Văn Lâm. Notably absent is striker Nguyễn Công Phượng, who has scored three goals in three appearances for Bình Phước Club in V.League 2 and the National Cup.

Trần Anh Tú, vice president of the Việt Nam Football Federation, noted that players Hoàng Đức and Văn Lâm have only recently transitioned to the First Division after competing in V.League 1 during the 2023-24 season. In contrast, Công Phượng spent most of the year as a reserve player at Yokohama Club in Japan.

"The 2024 Vietnamese Golden Ball Awards needs to consider a candidate's entire contribution over the year. Therefore, if the organising committee excludes first division players, it would be a significant disadvantage," Tú stated.

The organising committee clarified that the award evaluates players based on their contributions throughout 2024. Although Công Phượng has performed well since returning to the first division, his lack of playing time at Yokohama for over nine months likely influenced his absence from the nomination list.

Regarding the exclusion of Rafaelson Bezerra Fernandes (Vietnamese name Nguyễn Xuân Son) from Nam Định Club, who is the top scorer in V.League 1 for the 2023-24 season, Tú explained: “Son has completed his Vietnamese naturalisation, but he has primarily played as a foreign player in 2024. Including him in the men's Golden Ball list would be unreasonable. Perhaps next year, in the 2025 award, he will be deserving of a nomination.”

Son is nominated for the Best Foreign Player category and is a strong contender for the top position, having scored 31 goals in 24 appearances in V.League 1. He is likely not only to claim the title of top scorer this season but also become the highest scorer in the tournament's history.

Without competition from Son, striker Nguyễn Tiến Linh of Bình Dương is emerging as a leading candidate for the 2024 Vietnamese Golden Ball, having scored six goals in the first six matches of the season.

Former national striker Lê Công Vinh commented that changes to the V.League 1 schedule for the 2024-25 season complicated the selection process for the Golden Ball title. Experts believe that the Vietnamese national team's underperformance in continental tournaments this year will lead to greater emphasis on players' performances in V.League 1 and the AFF Cup at year’s end.

Former star Nguyễn Hồng Sơn added: "The Vietnamese Golden Ball Awards is a prestigious title in a player's career. These awards represent the recognition of experts, journalists, and fans for their contributions. I hope the Vietnamese Golden Ball Awards continues to enhance its expertise, increase its value and sustain its prestige, motivating players to strive for excellence." — VNS