Why SLNA does not meet AFC professional standards?

Specifically, the 5 Vietnamese teams that meet Asian professional standards include Hanoi FC, B. Binh Duong, SHB Da Nang, Than Quang Ninh and S. Khanh Hoa BVN. This list for 2018 is Hanoi FC, B. Binh Duong, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa and Song Lam Nghe An.

Of which, Hanoi, B.Binh Duong and SHB Da Nang are 03 clubs that fully meet the standards and conditions to participate in the AFC Champions League. The remaining two teams meet the minimum standards and are eligible to participate in the AFC Cup.

Also because of the AFC professional standard barrier, in the 2018 season, V.League champion Quang Nam unfortunately lost their place in the AFC Champions League. The opportunity to participate in the continental tournament was then transferred to FLC Thanh Hoa.

SLNA still faces many difficulties in the process of moving towards true professionalism. Photo: Document

The AFC evaluates the level of professionalism of clubs based on criteria including: Sports (youth training and player development), Facilities (academy, stadium, turf, equipment), Human resources - Administration, Legal and Finance.

In addition, the teams must also participate in all youth tournaments organized by the Vietnam Football Federation. Other criteria such as airports, hospitals, and hotels in the locality must meet the criteria set by the AFC.

SLNA basically meets all of the above criteria. However, in 2018, SLNA did not participate in the AFC Cup or any continental tournament, so the Nghe An team did not pay much attention to filing documents with the AFC to meet professional standards.

On the other hand, SLNA has been quite passive in preparing for V.League 2019 in terms of operating costs, sponsorship, and spending time negotiating with sponsors, so it is understandable that they cannot meet the requirements in terms of facilities and finance.

At the end of January, the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) announced the ranking list of national championship tournaments around the world. Accordingly, K.League is the number 1 tournament in Asia for 8 consecutive years and ranked 19th in the world (up 9 places). Thai-League ranked 8th in Asia and 60th in the world (down 2 places).

IFFHS started publishing this list in 1991 based on the results and achievements of the top 5 clubs of that country in the continental arena. The statistics selected the 80 best quality tournaments but Vietnam was not in this group./.

Thanh Hoa and SLNA officially eliminated from AFC Cup 2018

(Baonghean.vn) - Losing to Johor Darul Ta'zim in the final match of Group H, AFC Cup 2018, along with the results in Group F, SLNA has officially said goodbye to the continental tournament.