Song Lam Nghe An and the decline of subsidized football
(Baonghean.vn) – The development history of SLNA football team has gone through countless ups and downs. With its roots and foundation of talent, the Nghe An football team has always stood firm. However, in the era of “strong because of rice, bold because of money”, a symbol is becoming “dying” in the midst of the times.
Intangible values
SLNA has traditional values that not every team in V.League has. The predecessor of SLNA is a team with the identity of Nghe Tinh, including 2 provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh.
If in the past, The Cong was like a “national football team” because almost every family had a child in the army, then SLNA has always been the pride of the people of Nghe An. From those living in their hometown to those living far away. Football is the spiritual food and the bond that binds the people of Nghe An together. Every year, thousands of SLNA shirts are sent to European and Asian countries, which speaks for itself.
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| SLNA has a strong fan base across the country. Photo: Nguyet Ha |
Nghe An is not only a land of learning but also a land rich in football potential. Experts have grounds to affirm this because the people of Nghe An especially love football. Stemming from love, young talents of Nghe An are abundant in all districts, cities and towns. Nghe An football and SLNA is also the only locality in the country that has a system of 25 amateur football classes in the districts and towns in the province.
Almost every commune, every hamlet has at least one football field. That is the reason why every year, districts organize youth football tournaments, creating a playground for physical development for young people. Typically, the Youth Football Tournament of Nghe An Newspaper Cup has been held for 23 years, the Youth Football Tournament of Quynh Luu district is entering its 24th year, the Tournament of Vinh City has been held since 1984. Not to mention other traditional lands such as Do Luong, Hung Nguyen or the emerging factors of Yen Thanh, Nghi Loc...
Hardly any locality has created conditions for football development like Nghe An. Every year, SLNA training center receives a budget of 25 billion VND to maintain and nurture about 250 young athletes. That is the premise for SLNA to always produce excellent players, despite the fact that every year the professional team has pillars leaving.
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| SLNA youth teams continue to reap success. Photo: Duc Anh |
Nghe An has so many football talents that big training centers like Viettel, HAGL, Hanoi, PVF are also looking for rough diamonds, competing with SLNA. Even in Cua Lo Town, there is a youth training center - VSH. This is also the place that has produced Van Cong, Van Dai, Ngoc Duc, Van Hoang, Van Kien...
SLNA is not only the birthplace of good players but also has many football managers who have affirmed their names. Currently in V.League, Huu Thang, Quang Truong, Duc Thang, Thanh Cong, Huy Hoang... are all talented coaches and former players. SLNA also has a team of young, enthusiastic and passionate coaches.
The "dying agony" of subsidized football
When football first entered the professional playing field, in the market mechanism, the province supported and encouraged SLNA players to contribute to their homeland by providing land instead of paying billions of dong like the "bosses". But that was a story of the past. Professional football requires clubs to be equitized and operate as a business model. Having to be self-sufficient, SLNA has been struggling to survive "hand to mouth" for many years.
It can be said that SLNA has been doing well in the past 10 years. However, since winning the 2011 V.League championship, apart from the provincial support, the Nghe An team can only rely on one source of funding, which is Bac A Bank. In fact, finding such a sponsor when football is not profitable is very difficult.
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| SLNA players who have left and will leave. Photo archive |
Each year, a V.League football team needs about 50 billion to ensure its operations. With SLNA, having an abundant source of young players and available domestic players, 50 billion is a dream number. However, not many businesses in Nghe An have a net profit of over 50 billion to invest in football.
In V.League at the moment, Viettel Club is being backed by a large corporation, Hanoi Club under the management of Do Quang Hien. The two big cities, Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh City, have many advantages to attract and seek sponsors. It can be seen that SLNA is at a great disadvantage in finding an economic support for itself.
In 2018, when Bac A Bank ended its 3-year contract, SLNA once again faced a historic opportunity to change its appearance. However, the negotiations all fell into a deadlock and failed for many unfortunate reasons. The Nghe An team could only maintain its activities in the 2019 season thanks to an additional 30 billion VND in support from Bac A Bank and 20 billion VND from a local enterprise.
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| Without a new sponsor, a series of SLNA pillars have left. Photo courtesy |
The above figures are not enough to help SLNA cover the difficulties that have existed for decades. And the pillars must look for new destinations one by one when the future of V.League 2020 is still uncertain. Players Nguyen Manh, Khac Ngoc, Ngoc Toan, Dinh Hoang are said to have signed preliminary contracts with Viettel and SHB Da Nang clubs. All foreign players have also said goodbye to SLNA.
Currently, SLNA has not found a new sponsor and there is a knot that needs to be untied. SLNA cannot live with the paradoxes that have existed for so long. When SLNA players leave, they are all free agents and the team does not receive any transfer fee. This is contrary to the rules of world football.
With 14 players out of contract, SLNA can only rely on veterans like Quang Tinh, Dinh Dong, Van Binh and players born in 1995-1996 like Van Khanh, Tuan Tai, Van Duc, Xuan Manh and young U21 players.
For 40 years, SLNA has never been relegated and the SLNA brand still has a lot of potential to build, develop and exploit. However, in reality, the Nghe An football team has become "dying", "gasping" because of the remnants of subsidized football. Football is a game that costs a lot of money, football needs to bring some benefit to the sponsor or at least to support itself.
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| The U21 SLNA team does not have many good players to be able to play in the V.League. Photo courtesy |
In the past, football teams like HAGL, SHB Da Nang, Nam Dinh "went to Nghe An to learn football. Now, everything has changed, SLNA is gradually falling behind the way football is done in many other localities, from organizational structure, operating model, to marketing, finding sponsorship, exploiting brands, distributing tickets...
"Many people can outline a direction, a plan for SLNA Club. However, to carry out those plans in the current situation is not easy."
At the moment in V.League, SLNA is the only team with 100% local players. The V.League playground will certainly lose some of its appeal without SLNA’s identity, especially in the context of the tournament having the problem of one boss having many teams. Therefore, this is the most urgent and important moment, the SLNA brand needs cooperation and synchronization from many sides./.
For a decade, SLNA has become a 'transit station' for foreign players in V.League.
(Baonghean.vn) - Not only is SLNA a source of domestic players for V.League teams, it is also a place to discover quality foreign players. The paradox is that foreign players often only stay at SLNA for a very short time.
