V.League 2023: Song Lam Nghe An meets SHB Da Nang in the first match of the new season

V.League 2023 brings together 14 football teams including Becamex Binh Duong, People's Police, Dong A Thanh Hoa, Hanoi, Hai Phong, Hoang Anh Gia Lai, Hong Linh Ha Tinh, Khanh Hoa, Nam Dinh, SHB Da Nang, Song Lam Nghe An, Topenland Binh Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City Club, Viettel.

This year's season will be held for about 6 months from February 3, 2023 to the end of August 2023. The tournament will be organized in 2 phases. This method is similar to the 2020 season. The reason VPF chose this organization method is to meet the available time. In phase 1, 14 clubs will compete in a round-robin format to calculate points and rank. Based on the rankings of the clubs after the end of phase 1, they will be divided into groups A and B.

In phase 2, group A clubs compete in a round robin to calculate points, rank, and determine the Champion, Second, and Third teams.

Meanwhile, Group B will compete in a round-robin format to calculate points, rank, and determine which team will be relegated to the First Division. The points earned by the club in Phase 1 will be counted towards the club's total ranking points when competing in Phase 2 and the overall ranking for both Group A and Group B.

Song Lam Nghe An is actively practicing to prepare for the new season. Photo: D.A

Based on the draw results, in round 1, Song Lam Nghe An will compete with SHB Da Nang. This is a match that is expected to bring the first points to the Nghe team. Because according to the assessment, Da Nang in this year's season has not invested as much as in previous seasons.

This year is expected to create a fierce race in group A, with the appearance of a series of rich football teams such as People's Public Security, Hanoi, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Topenland Binh Dinh, Viettel...

Also in this season, there will be 1 relegation spot to V.League 2. Therefore, the race between teams in the risk group will certainly be extremely tense, especially with the group separation competition method. This competition method was fully applied in the 2020 season and showed its attractiveness and high competitiveness through each round in both group A and group B.

Besides, VAR will be applied from phase 2. Sharing about this issue, Mr. Nguyen Minh Ngoc - General Director of VPF said:

"According to the direction of the VFF Standing Committee and the VPF Board of Directors, the implementation steps will be carried out according to the set plan. VFF will develop a referee training plan and import equipment to apply VAR for testing according to the reported roadmap.

Up to this point, VAR plans such as equipment, referee training, and referee selection have been implemented according to FIFA's requirements. I hope the VAR system will be applied in phase 2 of the 2023 season, and officially applied from 2024."

Accordingly, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF) will invest in 4 VAR vehicles. Along with that, human resources will be trained to operate the VAR system, trying to meet FIFA's requirements so that VAR can be applied soon in the 2023 season./.

Duc Anh