VietNamNet Bridge – Some athletes did not return home after overseas training courses to become illegal workers. People may condemn and hold it against them but partly sympathize with them. It is said that Vietnam’s sport is poor, Vietnamese athletes are poor. Yes, athletes are poor but are Vietnam’s sports really poor?


It is not true to say that Vietnam’s sport sector is short of money. Though the economic situation is difficult and even the richest sector, like the banking industry has to restructure to overcome difficulties; Vietnam has gladly announced to be among the finalists that are competing to be the host of the Asian Games (Asiad) 18 in 2019.

This is a costly race. In 2010, China spent up to $1.2 billion to organize Asiad 16 in Guangzhou. Taiwan has stated that it is willing to pay $700 million to hold Asiad 2019. The Vietnam Olympic Committee says that Vietnam will spend around $120 million for this event. Vietnam’s advantage is it is being supported by many countries and it is the second Southeast Asian country, after Thailand, which is brave to host the event.

Vietnam’s sport officials say that this is good news because the estimated cost of $120 million, mainly from the state budget, is too cheap.

In the past, the sport sector built a lot of works worth millions of US dollars, funded by the State budget. These works have not been used effectively or left unused. This fact shows that the sport sector is not poor at all.

To serve the Southeast Asia Games 2003, a press center was build very rapidly in Hanoi, covering 6,000sq.m. This center was equipped with modern machine and equipment and it also quickly disappeared after the SEA Games. The second press center in HCM City was leased to become a complex of restaurants.

Cracks appeared at the My Dinh National Stadium, which was also built to serve the SEA Games 2003, even before the inauguration ceremony. At present, football teams favor the Hang Day stadium rather than the national stadium. As a result, this national work hosts less than ten football matches a year. The stadium is divided into small plots to serve people who practice golf.

The Phu Tho Sports House was built in Phu Tho province at the coast of several million US dollars but it is rarely used. The beach volleyball ground in Nam Dinh has also disappeared.

Recently, Vietnam’s sport sector was also very proud to host the Asian Indoor Games 2009. A roofed track-and-field center was built in Hanoi, worth at least $25 million. After the games, this center was unassembled. It is now the home to several tennis courts.

If Vietnam wins the right to host the Asiad 2019, the sport sector will spend at least $72 million to build new sport centers for rugby, baseball, hockey, etc. which are very strange to Vietnamese. Because they are too strange, it is anticipated that these centers will quickly disappear after the games.

Let’s forget that some Vietnamese athletes have to earn extra income by removing weeds, some athletes fled national sport teams to become manual workers abroad, sport talents have to huddle under staircases of stadiums. Vietnam’s sport is willing to spend $120 million to compete with rich countries to host the Asian games and to build sport centers to use for several weeks… who can say that Vietnam’s sport sector is poor?

SGTT