Consequences if HAGL leaves V-League

Bau Tu has confirmed that he will not withdraw from his current positions, and is still almost the only candidate for the position of Vice President of Finance at the upcoming VFF congress.

He has reasons to defend his decision, because he believes he did nothing wrong and there is nothing that prevents him from holding many important positions at the same time in Vietnamese football.

Mr. Duc also has his reasons for quitting football. Because with nearly 20 years of experience pursuing his passion, he does not believe that Vietnamese football will improve in a situation where there is such a shortage of personnel that one person has to "hold" so many positions.

In the midst of the crisis, there is no mediator with enough weight to mediate to avoid a collapse that is almost certain to happen. Instead, Vietnamese football is facing a crisis, which although has precedent, has much greater consequences.

The first consequence could happen to Mr. Duc himself.. Although there is a roadmap, resolving the benefits for sponsor VP Milk is not simple. This brand has been with HAGL since last season. Also from the mountain town team, they have a relationship with the Vietnam U23 team. Recently, VP Milk's billboards have appeared densely on many football fields with high audience numbers such as Hang Day, Hai Phong...

This brand has also quickly signed a contract for Coach Park Hang-seo to be their brand ambassador. These are considered backup plans for VP Milk to always accompany Vietnamese football. But even so, if HAGL does not compete, the business plan of this brand will be seriously affected.

The second difficulty is even greater.. The current HAGL players all have a professional position and a considerable transfer value. In terms of business, Mr. Duc can sell the whole team without much financial loss. However, this also means that he will lose his passion.

Up to now, he has always kept in mind to build a generation of players with both talent and virtue. That can only happen when they play football together, under the management of HAGL. Not to mention, Mr. Duc also promised the players' future to their families. If HAGL is not kept in the V-League, the output of the Academy in Gia Lai is also a question mark because currently, this academy is not of enough quality to "export" players abroad.

The most likely solution is for Mr. Duc to transfer the entire team to another company, or to send them to compete in a tournament in the Southeast Asian region. But the second option is not simple because it also involves investing abroad.

For Mr. Tu and VPF company, if HAGL withdraws, it will be a "black mark". VPF Company was established to bring benefits to clubs, develop Vietnamese football through the growth of football teams, especially connecting businesses involved in football. To let a veteran boss, a football team with tradition leave this playground, even though it is not his fault, it is clear that Mr. Tu must also take responsibility as the leader.

V-League history has recorded many cases of abandoning the tournament, such as Sai Gon Xuan Thanh in 2013 or Vissai Ninh Binh in 2014. However, although they created disruptions in the competition results, those cases could not cause as much harm as the case of HAGL.

The mountain town football team has been the biggest inspiration in V-League for many years. On average, in the last three seasons, each match they participated in attracted an average audience of around 10,000 people, much higher than the average of the whole league.

They were present in most of the matches that recorded record attendance in V-League, the latest being two matches at Lach Tray and Hang Day stadiums. Therefore, if HAGL no longer plays, the sponsors of V-League will come back to make things difficult for the company that Mr. Tu is the head of.

Whatever the reason, Mr. Duc's withdrawal of HAGL from V-League is clearly something that should not happen, both now and in the long term.. After the success of U23 Vietnam, V-League is receiving positive signals. This is the time when national football needs stability, not the damage caused by internal conflicts. Unfortunately, no one is skilled enough to defuse the current "bomb". The efforts of former VPF Chairman Vo Quoc Thang were unsuccessful when Mr. Duc refused to sit down with Mr. Tu.

At this point, fans can only hope that there will be an important move from the leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, or even higher levels to resolve this conflict. Because even if the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) elects a new leadership board, but the relationship between them and the club level, like the case of Mr. Duc, is still only "on the surface, not in the heart", it is no different than keeping a time bomb in the house./.