Does Vietnamese football dare to say no to negativity?

This is the question raised by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam at the conference to review 4 years of implementing the Vietnam Football Development Strategy to 2020 and vision to 2030, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the morning of December 19.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam speaks at the conference. Photo: VGP/Dinh Nam

The conference was attended by leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the sports sector and many football players from across the country.

According to the report of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in recent years, football facilities have been heavily invested in from social resources, forming a system of grassroots football competitions. Currently, the country has 15,000 football fields and over 4,000 grassroots football clubs.

The system of selecting and training football athletes and improving the quality and achievements of national football teams continues to be innovated and improved, achieving certain achievements.

For professional football, the country has over 55 top clubs, which are gradually being completed, initially expanding in quantity and improving in quality.

However, many goals in the development strategy of Vietnamese football have not been achieved due to many limitations and weaknesses as stated in the speech of Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien.

“The State management apparatus for football from the central to local levels is still weak, confused in innovation, improving the capacity and effectiveness of management activities. The organization of football tournaments is affected by negative behaviors, violence, and uncivilized conduct of a number of managers, athletes, and coaches; confusion in handling violations... The disease of achievement, focusing on short-term results is still common.

"High-level football and the national team still have many limitations, unstable achievements, still low compared to the continent, and the number of athletes is still thin," Minister Nguyen Ngoc Thien assessed.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam suggested that the comments should focus on the issues that Vietnamese football is facing with “a clear sense of responsibility from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the General Department of Physical Training and Sports, departments, the Vietnam Football Federation…”.

Delegates attending the conference discussed issues related to the development of Vietnamese football: grassroots football; capacity building, training of football staff, coaches, and athletes; development of professional football, prevention of negativity, etc.

A representative of the Khanh Hoa Department of Culture and Sports said that to develop professional football, it must be based on grassroots football, and at the same time, professional football is the driving force and nucleus to promote grassroots football and school football.

Referee Van Lap had to sit and drink water after his whistle was blown. Photo: Internet

Meanwhile, Mr. Pham Thanh Hung, Chairman of Than Quang Ninh Club, affirmed that the core factor that determines the success or failure of professional football is the belief in clean football. This is also the goal pursued by Than Quang Ninh Club to build trust in the hearts of fans.

"A clean football industry must be clean from management to competition and even in the stands," Mr. Hung expressed and recommended that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism work with localities to unify views, perceptions and orientations for football development.

At the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam raised many questions for football professionals: “Can Vietnamese football progress further, is it similar to international football or is it developing in an inverted pyramid shape where the champion team is not qualified to participate in continental tournaments? The focus is on youth football, grassroots football, women's football, or professional tournaments. From there, we can clarify where, which stage is weak, is the organizing committee good, is it professional?

Are there still phenomena of giving points, giving points, and patting each other on the back? Are professional football tournaments honest and clean when people prefer to watch children's football? Are those working in Vietnamese football determined to say no to negativity?

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized: These are issues that we must raise and discuss carefully to agree on the next course of action. Football cannot develop hastily, it needs to follow international and scientific trends, have a fundamental foundation from nutrition onwards with a specific roadmap, and be steadfast in implementation.

According to baochinhphu.vn