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Quang Ninh football returns from the third division. Photo provided by the team.

Nearly four years after bidding farewell to the V-League and dissolving their club, Quang Ninh football has officially returned with the launch of a new team, much to the delight of local fans.

Quang Ninh FC is starting in the third division with the aim of quickly returning to the V-League. To achieve this, the team is recruiting many players with professional experience and a coaching staff with significant expertise, including Technical Director Tran Minh Chien and Head coach Nguyen Van Dan.

Whether Quang Ninh FC can quickly make it back to the V-League remains to be seen, but the establishment of the club provides some solace to fans who experienced the painful dissolution and controversy surrounding their former team a few years ago.

Before announcing its dissolution, Quang Ninh was a formidable name in the V-League, consistently maintaining strong performances in Vietnam's top league.

The team's strength was not coincidental; at the time, Quang Ninh Coal FC had a robust financial backing, a strong roster of players and coaches, excellent facilities, and a fan base among the top in the V-League.

However, only a few seasons after joining the V-League in 2015, the team faced controversies over unpaid salaries, bonuses, and other issues, leading to its dissolution, much to the disappointment of fans.

While the return of Quang Ninh to football is a cause for celebration, there is also a sense of apprehension among fans, as they wonder how long this resurgence will last or if it will fade as quickly as it appeared.

Vietnamese football, after more than 20 years of professional development, has seen many stories similar to that of Quang Ninh Coal FC. The issue is that such stories appear every season, not just occasionally.

Some teams from the past struggled to adapt to the new environment and were dissolved, which is understandable. However, it is disheartening that clubs once considered models of Vietnamese professional football also face the brink of dissolution.

The reasons for such dissolutions often follow a familiar pattern: initial excitement and promises to build a professional football team for the greater good, followed by strong investment in the transfer market, leading to debts and eventual disappearance.

Vietnamese football's repetitive cycle explains why the First Division has never reached 14 teams like the V-League, as envisioned in the initial plans for professional football development.

This ongoing cycle of challenges makes many believe that Vietnam's dream of participating in the World Cup remains a distant aspiration without a solid foundation for realization.

Duy Nguyen