Virtual numbers make V.League miserable

(Baonghean.vn) - It is no coincidence that the V.League is in trouble because it has not found a main sponsor. And big brands are paying special attention to the Thai League.

In the context of V.League struggling to find investment funds, VPF leaders are running around looking for new sponsors, but before that, Toyota spent heavily on Thai football with a total value of up to 485 billion VND. Extending the sponsorship package from 2017 to the end of 2020 including: Thai League 1, Thai League 2, Thai League 3 and Thai League Cup, this brand also accompanies all Thai national teams.

Looking at the investment policy of this brand for Thai and Vietnamese football, Vietnamese fans cannot help but feel sad. The quality of V.League is not only declining day by day, the low effectiveness of brand promotion is only part of the reason. And of course, the market in Thailand is a fertile land, fierce competition between major transportation brands while in Vietnam, Toyota is considered the leader.

Statistics show that the number of spectators attending V.League is higher than that of Thailand's Thai League. Photo: Trung Kien

On the other hand, the way VFF and VPF operate and organize the tournament is facing too many problems, from referees, stadiums... According to VPF statistics in the 3 years 2015 - 2017, the number of spectators coming to watch V.League has decreased miserably.

If in 2015, the total number of spectators was 1,346,500 people (average: 7,400 people/match), then in 2016 it dropped to 1,147,900 people (average: 6,307 people/match). And the number of people who spent time going to the stadium to watch V.League 2017 was only 1,017,000 people in 182 matches, average: 5,619 people/match.

However, the above figures are entirely based on unscientific statistics from clubs with the purpose of "selling" advertising on the field. And that means that the number of spectators coming to watch V.League is not only decreasing but also the figures are not really accurate. In reality, in V.League, the stadiums that regularly welcome a large number of spectators are only Lach Tray (Hai Phong), Cam Pha (Quang Ninh), Thanh Hoa and possibly Pleiku (HAGL). The rest of the stadiums in V.League are sparsely attended.

Thai League is far different from V.League in quality. Photo: Internet

V.League has really brought surprising numbers. Because in the Thai National Championship, Thai League 2017, the number of viewers decreased compared to 2016 by about 12%. Specifically, there were more than 1.3 million people coming to the stadium to watch a total of 36 matches in Thai League, an average of 4,500 people watching a match in Thai League.

Statistics show that the top 5 teams with the highest number of viewers are: Buriram United, SCG Muangthong United, Suphanburi, Chiangrai United, Nakhon Ratchasima, accounting for more than 50% of the total number of spectators. Of which, Buriram United has nearly 2 times more spectators than the second-ranked team, SCG Muangthong.

In fact, there is no way that V.League is more attractive than Thai League, the television copyright and the way of promoting the brand of the two tournaments are different right from the grass and stadium. Electronic advertising boards at Thai stadiums are signed in a 3-year package, unlike the clubs in V.League. Not to mention the brands and businesses appearing on the shirts of Thai clubs...

And besides the objective reasons, the way of management, organization and the "virtual" numbers, the confusion between truth and falsehood, could be the reasons why Vietnamese football regrettably loses money.

Trung Kien