Image of Hai Phong football team in a friendly match with sailors on the French warship Dumont D'Urville. (Photo courtesy)
From the French colonial period to the Declaration of Independence on September 2, football has repeatedly become a bridge for important political tasks, even a tool serving the revolution.
"From colonial pleasure to Vietnamese movement"
Football followed the French, arriving in Vietnam in 1896 in the south, then still called Cochinchina, directly ruled by France. At first, this was only a pastime for French soldiers and officials, but quickly spread to the civil servants, workers and gradually became popular in the Vietnamese community.
In 1905, the British warship King Alfred docked at Saigon port, played a friendly match with a football team consisting of many French-Vietnamese players, this match went down in history as the first international match in Vietnam.
The big turning point came in 1906 when Mr. E. Breton, a member of the French Sports Union (French: L'Union des Sociétés Françaises des Sports Athlétiques) brought football rules to popularize in South Vietnam. Besides popularizing football rules in Vietnam, he also reformed the Cercle Sportif Saigonnais club, a club with a rich tradition at that time, following the organization of football clubs in France.
Cercle Sportif Saigonnais football team. (Photo courtesy)
In just a few years, football spread to the central and northern regions, forming strong teams such as Le Duong Dap Cau, Olympique Hai Phong, Hanoi club (Stade Hanoien), Le Duong Viet Tri...
In the north, football was initially just a fun game played in open fields and crossroads. In the 1910s and 1920s, Vietnamese football teams including Eclair and Stade Hanoien came together to establish Nha Dau Stadium near Long Bien Bridge. Meanwhile, Cot Co Stadium was called Manzin Stadium at that time and was managed by the colonial army.
From a French sport, a colonial pastime, football later spread widely, deeply, and had a profound influence on the masses. The French did not expect that this sport would gradually become a fire to awaken the national spirit, and above all, the ball carried within it the revolutionary spirit.
By the 1920s and 1930s, the workers' football movement had spread. Many teams associated with factories and enterprises such as Hai Phong Workers, General Department of Railways, Hanoi Electricity Workers, Nam Dinh Textile Workers, etc. were established.
The purpose of establishing football teams was to improve health, entertain, sometimes play friendly matches with French teams or other Vietnamese teams, but also to meet, exchange ideas, and in many cases organize secret activities. Many underground revolutionary cadres were also members of workers' football teams. The ball thus became a means of uniting the masses, adding strength to the national liberation movement.
Political tasks in the early days of independence
On September 2, 1945, at Ba Dinh Square, President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence, giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The joy was not yet complete when the young government faced countless challenges: “Famine, ignorance, foreign invaders, and internal rebels”.
After the Provisional Agreement of September 14, 1946, relations with France became extremely tense. The French colonialists at that time were determined not to give up their ambition to reoccupy, while we were determined to maintain our independence, persistently pursuing peace to have more time to prepare for resistance. In that context, football was unexpectedly used as a soft diplomatic channel to ease the tension.
Image of French warship Dumont D'Urville. (Photo courtesy)
At that time, Uncle Ho suddenly announced to the people of Hai Phong city that we would organize a football match with the sailors on the French warship Dumont D'Urville, to show the goodwill of the Vietnamese people.
The task of forming the team was assigned to famous player Nguyen Lan, who had less than 24 hours to prepare for the match. Even though the time was tight, when the organization trusted him, and it was a revolutionary task, no matter how difficult it was, he had to do it!
That night, Mr. Lan cycled around the city, looking for each player. After several hours of hard work, a patchwork team was finally formed. In addition to names like Luong “shorty”, Nguyen Thong, Sau “moc”, the team also added B-class players like Luong, Phu (police), De, Thoat, Giao… Although there was no time to practice, everyone was unusually eager and enthusiastic. Along with that, the organizing committee also thoroughly enforced the spirit of friendly competition, not playing “hard”, not “eager to win or lose”, always being on guard against reactionary sabotage.
On the afternoon of October 21, 1946, the Pho Ga stadium was packed. The red flag with yellow star and the slogan “Support the Revolution” were flying brightly. The French team had tall players, dressed in beautiful uniforms. Meanwhile, the Hai Phong team, though short, were skillful, wearing the traditional yellow shirts of the “Phoenix of the Port City”.
In the first half, Hai Phong led 1-0, dominating the opponent. In the middle of the match, the Organizing Committee directed to "give way" for France to equalize, avoiding tension. In the second half, the score ended 1-1. What the organizing committee was most worried about was that reactionary forces could take advantage of the match to cause trouble, incite, or even carry out terrorism by throwing grenades, or assassinating players of the two teams to cause division and discord between us and France... However, fortunately, this did not happen. It was a great victory for the Hai Phong Police force at that time.
Football - a bridge of friendship and a symbol of peace
Through the football match between Hai Phong team and the French Navy team, the tense atmosphere between the two countries was somewhat eased and the spirit of friendship was fostered.
This match not only satisfied the passion of the Hai Phong audience, but more importantly, in the political context at that time, when the independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was still young and faced many pressures, the match became a soft but effective diplomatic bridge, helping to ease disagreements, thereby maintaining a dialogue channel with France and opening up opportunities to continue negotiating in peace.
It was truly a diplomatic “victory”, helping us protect the independence that had just been declared on September 2.
From a game originally introduced by the colonialists, football then and now has gradually gone beyond the framework of an entertaining sport to become an inseparable part of Vietnam's socio-political life, thereby arousing the spirit of national solidarity, fostering the will to fight for independence and becoming an effective soft tool in diplomatic activities.
The images of soldiers and players in that historic match, both fighting hard on the field and silently preserving peace, have been deeply engraved in the history of sports and diplomacy of our country.
It is not only a beautiful memory but also a vivid proof that sports, when placed in a historical context, can stand shoulder to shoulder with politics in the cause of defending the Fatherland, contributing to preserving independence, sovereignty and spreading the message of peace to international friends.
Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/bong-da-tai-viet-nam-hanh-trinh-du-nhap-va-nhiem-vu-chinh-tri-gan-voi-nen-doc-lap-20250903104329683.htm
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