V-League postponed to 2022, what do the clubs say?

The plan to postpone the V-League to February 2022 was approved by the majority of VPF Board members. VPF will report to VFF and the VFF Executive Board will make the final decision on whether to postpone the tournament to February 2022 or not.

If approved by VFF, round 13 of V-League 2021 will be held on February 12, 2022. Phase 2 of LS V-League 2021 will be played from February 16 to March 12, 2022 with 2 championship groups (6 teams) and relegation groups (8 teams).

The Board of Directors of VPF Company approved the plan to postpone V-League to 2022. Photo: VPF

In fact, the return and end of V-League in 2021 is unlikely, because the Covid-19 pandemic is complicated, while the match schedule of U23 and Vietnam national team is almost full.

"The postponement of V-League is unavoidable. VPF has made long-term calculations so that teams can prepare and create conditions for the Vietnamese team to perform international duties," said Mr. Nguyen Minh Ngoc - General Director of VPF.

VPF has a reason to postpone LS V-League to 2022, but most of the teams do not agree. The tournament's continued postponement for up to 7 months directly affects the training plan and especially the financial problems of the clubs.

Mr. Nguyen Tan Anh - Head of HAGL football team, said: "If we postpone for such a long time, it will certainly cause many difficulties for the teams. VPF must balance and ensure the harmony of interests between the national team and the club because the club is the foundation of the national team".

Currently, after 12 rounds, HAGL Club has 29 points leading the rankings, 3 points more than Viettel Club currently ranked 2nd. Photo: Hai Hoang

According to Mr. Tan Anh, most contracts between clubs and players end in October, so neither the team nor the players know how to calculate the remaining time. Mr. Tan Anh believes that V-League can both fight the epidemic and study the competition plan to ensure the rights of all.

Meanwhile, Nam Dinh Club's CEO, Tran Thai Toan, also shared the same opinion: "Nam Dinh does not agree with the plan to postpone the V-League schedule. Not competing for such a long period of time entails many other risks such as additional living expenses and player salaries, causing difficulties for financially constrained teams like Nam Dinh."

Coach Phan Thanh Hung of SHB Da Nang shared: "The V-League being postponed for so long will seriously affect the teams, from training and competition plans to contracts with players."

Mr. Van Sy Hung - Deputy Director in charge of SLNA Club's professional affairs, said that VFF and VPF need to make the most reasonable decision, because postponing it to 2022 will create many consequences.