Vietnamese football still lacks stability

Even before expectations for an exciting 2025/26 season could build, Vietnamese football has been hit by familiar and disheartening news: team withdrawals and disbandments.

From former V-League champion Quang Nam FC to First Division clubs Hoa Binh and Dong Nai, multiple teams have officially withdrawn from their respective competitions and announced complete dissolution.

These events are far from isolated. They continue a troubling trend that has plagued Vietnamese professional football for years, with clubs like Navibank Saigon, Saigon Xuan Thanh, Kien Giang, Than Quang Ninh, and Saigon FC all vanishing from the football map.

The recurring cycle of "rise - crisis - dissolution" has become a chronic illness in Vietnamese football, with no clear cure in sight.

Unpredictable risks ahead

This instability isn't simply about a few teams dropping out. It poses broader, systemic, long-term threats that could drag the entire sport backward.

Take Hoa Binh FC as an example. Its disappearance doesn’t just affect the First Division but also the V-League. As a team that had shown promise in previous seasons, its withdrawal forces both leagues to adjust their promotion and relegation slots - from two teams to one and a half - reducing overall competitiveness.

Such instability directly weakens the competitive nature of the leagues and jeopardizes the sport’s financial sustainability - its main engine of growth.

In recent seasons, sponsorship for the V-League and First Division has repeatedly come from the same loyal, long-standing partners. While these sponsors appear financially strong, this consistency reveals a lack of fresh investment and strategic depth, casting doubt on the sport’s long-term sustainability.

It’s worth remembering that the V-League once enjoyed a “golden era” from 2009 to 2012, only to fall into a decade-long slump. That painful lesson shows just how damaging financial instability can be.

Vietnamese football must now develop a long-term strategic plan - from club management to league operations - to escape this cycle of instability. Without such change, dreams of reaching continental heights will remain distant, and the more pressing risk is falling behind even within Southeast Asia.

Duy Nguyen