To help SLNA escape its precarious financial situation.

(Baonghean) - Instead of the recurring refrain of "asking provincial leaders to call upon and mobilize sponsors to join hands with the club to secure funding to retain key players" after each season, the SLNA club leadership should outline specific plans and strategies to gradually achieve financial and human resource self-sufficiency.

In November, V.League teams will reconvene to prepare for the 2016 season. While other teams are busy buying players to strengthen their squads, SLNA is suffering from a "poaching" of players. From captain Quang Tinh to other key players like Dinh Dong and Hoang Thinh, they are all seeking other teams with higher salaries. Thus, after three consecutive seasons (2013, 2014, 2015), the three captains of the Nghe An team – Cong Vinh, Trong Hoang, and Quang Tinh – have all left their hometown team. This is sad for SLNA, because if even the "maestro" leaves, where will they find players who are dedicated to their hometown team?!

Captain Quang Tinh (17) will follow in the footsteps of Cong Vinh and Trong Hoang to leave SLNA.

The main reason for this "brain drain" is that after each season, the SLNA club leadership has to wait and see what the sponsor will do to "make do with what they have." And it seems that the main sponsor is becoming increasingly uninterested, trying to distance themselves as much as possible! Therefore, the departure or stay of key players is not a concern for the main sponsor. This leads to SLNA losing its best players to its rivals in the V.League after each season.

To avoid over-reliance on sponsors, it's time for sports officials in the province and the leaders of SLNA Club to sit down together and find a development strategy for their hometown team. A team with a strong brand – the pride of Nghe An province – cannot continue to be plagued by the recurring problem of "lack of funding."

SLNA has a strong tradition of youth development, so transferring players to other teams can be considered a necessary source of revenue. This allows them to plan for training a new generation of players, creating a reserve for the first team and preventing them from being caught off guard when key players leave. SLNA also has the largest number of fans in the country, so selling tickets and merchandise related to the SLNA brand to fans generates significant revenue for the team. With high attendance, advertising on jerseys and billboards at Vinh Stadium will certainly bring in a considerable amount of money.

The large number of fans is also an advantage for SLNA in finding revenue for the club.

But to achieve that, the players must not "act on the field," nor "engage in economic activities" when facing teams desperate for points, and the team's leadership must not engage in "behind-the-scenes diplomacy"... leading to matches where the scores are predictable, causing Nghe An fans, who once transformed away stadiums into "Vinh City cauldrons," to boycott their hometown team due to a loss of faith.

Instead of the recurring refrain of "asking provincial leaders to call upon and mobilize sponsors to join hands with the club to secure funding to retain key players" after each season, the SLNA club leadership should outline specific plans and strategies to gradually achieve financial and human resource self-sufficiency, as well as build brand and reputation for the club, in order to attract benefactors to invest in the team.

If these things are done well, SLNA will certainly be able to stand on its own two feet instead of having to "scramble" from season to season.

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