VPF and V.League organizers also need a dose of 'vaccine'

Simply put, the Vietnam Football Federation - VFF is the highest body that decides on fundamental issues of the country.Vietnamese footballLegally, the direct responsibility for organizing belongs to VPF. It is undeniable that VPF has played a role in the development history of the highest tournament in Vietnam, representing the voice of the clubs in V.League, but VPF is lacking the necessary decisiveness of a major organizer.

Screenshot: The brief statement of SLNA leader received high approval from Nghe An audience. Photo: SLNA FC

In the 2020 season, VPF really did its job very well, but in 2021, when the epidemic became more complicated, the Organizing Committee of V.League 2021 was caught off guard. Was there any subjectivity? There would be nothing to be confused or debated if, learning from the 2020 season, the organizers prepared many possible scenarios.

It seems that from the beginning, the regulations of V.League 2021 were missing a very important line. That is, the plan, the outcome for canceling the tournament in cases of force majeure, there was no case of clubs disagreeing with VPF's way of doing things. Because epidemics, natural disasters or any external factors are unpredictable.

From the beginning, the promotion of the resumption, postponement, and then the plan to continue in February 2022 and finally "cancellation" were a series of relatively cumbersome and indecisive actions by VPF. If the cancellation was not made soon, no one could be sure that at that time, the epidemic could be completely controlled and that it would be safe for the team members and spectators. Just the decision of whether to postpone or not to postpone, to cancel or not to cancel took a lot of time.

All 27/27 clubs participating in the 2021 National Football Championship season agreed to vote to cancel the 2021 season. Photo: VPF

The pandemic has affected everything, not just football and V.League or First Division cannot continue, it is true that VPF will also have "difficulties" with sponsors, it is difficult to ensure the rights of sponsors. Shareholders and representatives of clubs understand, do not the members of the Board of Directors of VPF understand the matter of "profit and loss" in economic calculations?

On the contrary, the clubs are not happy, they are anxious and worried, burdened with financial problems, settlement and worries about relegation and relegation. Remember that the clubs also have difficulty in ensuring the rights of sponsors when the ball is not rolling. Economic contracts or sponsorship contracts are stories that cannot be used to erase or joke about.

As long as the V.League regulations are not strict and VPF lacks a "vaccine" in case of confusion like this, no decision can be perfect and VPF also fully understands that V.League, First Division is the playground of clubs.

From the clubs' protests against VPF's way of doing things, we can see that "Money goes hand in hand with guts", it is thought that an event organizer or more precisely the VPF Board of Directors needs to respect more those who spend money on football and their main shareholders. Instead of "bragging about poverty and misery" and making unwise and controversial statements, the "bosses" of V.League football teams are business managers, they have enough qualities and understanding of football and business law to request an extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders.

And above all, the V.League playground was created with the ultimate goal of serving the audience. Football without spectators is boring football. VPF itself proudly sent out the message for the 2020 season: "Safe community, football returns". Once the safety factors are not guaranteed, why not boldly propose that VFF stop earlier and now fall into a difficult situation.

From the audience’s perspective, Vietnamese football fans will certainly agree with temporarily putting aside the “spiritual food” of football. In addition to the support for canceling the V.League, recognizing the champion team after only 12 rounds and relegating the bottom team SLNA is unreasonable. No referee blows the whistle after the match has only ended 40 minutes for each 45-minute half.

There seems to be no precedent for such a hypothesis in world football history. So this is something that does not need much discussion. Even the owner Doan Nguyen Duc does not want to win the championship by "voting", so of course the SLNA Board of Directors has no choice but to demand justice for the team as well as this common game.

In fact, the SLNA leadership has been very humble and moderate. Club President Truong Sy Ba and General Director Truong Manh Linh only spoke up once because they know SLNA still has a lot of work to do to prepare for the future. I think the VFF should also consider preparing a few doses of "vaccine" for VPF and V.League so that in the future, the Vietnamese tournament can better fulfill its mission. And also to help the clubs live healthier and more professionally.

Hoai Hoan