Star striker Rafaelson Bezerra Fernandes of V.League 1’s Nam Định Club dreams of having Vietnamese nationality and contributing to the Vietnamese national team.    

In 2023, Transfermarkt ranked him among the top 15 strikers worldwide. Fernandes has been in exceptional form during the 2023/24 V.League 1 season, having scored 15 goals in 14 matches for Nam Định. He has expressed his strong desire to acquire Vietnamese citizenship and represent the national team.

"My dream since coming to this country has been to play for the Vietnamese team," Fernandes stated.

However, he acknowledges that he has only resided in Việt Nam for four years, which makes him ineligible to apply for Vietnamese citizenship at present. He is patiently waiting to go through the necessary procedures to obtain citizenship, understanding that it is a time-consuming process.

"Waiting to become a citizen of Việt Nam is not a problem for me," Fernandes added.

Trần Anh Tú, the vice president of the Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF), has addressed the issue of player naturalisation, stating, "the landscape of international football is rapidly changing, and Vietnamese football will also undergo significant transformations in the near future. We have already naturalised players of Vietnamese origin, such as Filip Nguyễn. When we observe other national teams, we can see that they are also evolving. We can no longer cling to old perspectives; new approaches are clearly emerging. The VFF is committed to supporting the continuous improvement of the Vietnamese national team." VNS