Mr. Duc refused to run for VFF President

Responding to the press on April 1, Mr. Duc said he would not run for the 8th Congress. Previously, Mr. Duc had repeatedly asked to withdraw from the position of Vice President in charge of finance, keeping his promise after the 29th SEA Games. However, the VFF Standing Committee and directly President Le Hung Dung convinced Mr. Duc to stay until the end of his term.

Previously, VFF decided to extend the time for member organizations to introduce personnel for key leadership positions at the 8th Congress, including President and Vice President. The move came after Mr. Duc spoke out against the fact that he was introduced by a member, but his name was not on the list announced at the Executive Committee meeting on March 16.

In addition to Mr. Duc being introduced to run for the chairmanship, some new figures have been introduced by VFF members to the remaining positions such as vice president in charge of finance and vice president in charge of expertise.

In the position of vice president in charge of finance, Mr. Tran Anh Tu will have another competitor, businessman Tran Van Lieng. The race for the position of vice president in charge of professional affairs is also more exciting when it is no longer the "private matter" of Mr. Duong Vu Lam, but there is a new person being introduced, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training Pham Van Tuan.

Mr. Pham Van Tuan held this position at the end of the 6th term of former President Nguyen Trong Hy. Compared to Mr. Duong Vu Lam, who held the position of acting Head of the VFF Referee Board, Mr. Tuan is somewhat more prominent.

If according to the regulations approved by the VFF Executive Committee, candidates for the positions of President and Vice President must have a university degree, Mr. Duc and another candidate will "fail" right from the first round. However, speaking with Zing.vn, a VFF official said that the highest decision will be under the authority of the VFF Congress.

Ahead, VFF will have another executive committee meeting to finalize issues related to the organization of the congress. According to regulations, the congress organization plan must be approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

• Doan Nguyen Duc, nicknamed Bau Duc, was born in Nhon My commune, An Nhon town, Binh Dinh province. He is the Chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, which does business in the fields of minerals, wood, rubber, hydropower, real estate and football.

• Mr. Duc is famous for his passion for football. Since 2001, he has spent more than 10 billion VND each year investing in football. He was the richest person on the Vietnamese stock market in 2008. In 2011, he was rated by the Wall Street Journal as one of the 30 most powerful businessmen in Southeast Asia.

To Dung