Vietnam Football Federation determined to develop football with internal strength

On the afternoon of June 17, at a press conference to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925 - June 21, 2025), President of the Vietnam Football Federation - Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan affirmed that Vietnamese football will not massively naturalize players to seek short-term achievements. Instead, the orientation of sustainable development from internal resources and investment in youth football will continue to be the core strategy.

Speaking to representatives of the press, Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan shared that after the 0-4 loss of the Vietnam National Team to the Malaysian National Team in the second qualifying round of the 2027 Asian Cup, he felt troubled and stayed up many nights thinking about the right direction for the country's football.

“We have analyzed many cases from other football backgrounds. There are countries that use the strategy of naturalizing players to improve the strength of the national team in a short time, however, the long-term consequence is that it affects the domestic football movement, especially youth training and the motivation of domestic players. If there is no right step, the national team can become stronger in 1-2 years, but the domestic football system will be weakened,” the President of the Vietnam Football Federation shared.

The match against Malaysia, where the opposing team used 9 naturalized players, showed a clear difference in physical strength and power. However, according to Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan, football is not only a story of achievements, but also a matter of identity, national pride and sustainable direction.

“We do not deny the role of naturalized players, but if we use them, we must be selective and in line with the development direction. The goal is to both enhance the strength of the national team and maintain and develop domestic resources. There are newly promoted clubs that have very innovative projects and ideas, showing a positive and promising change for Vietnamese football in the future,” he said.

Also at the meeting, the head of the Vietnam Football Federation emphasized the key role of youth training and international exposure for the long-term development of Vietnamese football.

“Football requires patience. I have been in this job for 25 years. After losing to Malaysia, I couldn’t sleep for 2 nights, feeling like I was back in 2006 when we were preparing for the 2007 Asian Cup finals. At that time, the team lost nearly half of its squad, but in the end we still reached the quarterfinals. A year later, Vietnam won the Southeast Asian Football Championship (AFF Cup) for the first time. It is the constant friction that has made us mature,” Mr. Tuan shared.

In recent years, the Vietnam Football Federation has promoted international training for youth teams. Each year, there are up to 30 training trips for Vietnamese youth teams in Japan, in addition to quality tournaments in China and Europe. This is considered a practical direction to help young players improve their skills, physical strength and tactical thinking.

In particular, on August 3, the Vietnam Football Federation will sign a cooperation agreement with the Chinese Football Federation. This is an important step to enhance exchanges, learn from experience and expand international competition opportunities for Vietnamese youth teams.

“This year, the U22 team, the futsal team and most recently the U16 Vietnam team all have training and competition trips in China. We are also planning for the U15 and U20 teams to train in Europe, in preparation for important tournaments such as the SEA Games in the next 2 years,” said Chairman Tran Quoc Tuan.

Closing the meeting, Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan expressed his wish to receive the support of the media and fans to build a Vietnamese football that develops steadily, imbued with national identity and can conquer higher milestones in the future./.

Hai Hoang