Vietnamese Football: Waiting for the transformation after the merger

When opponents suddenly become "family"

The merger of provinces and cities is creating big changes not only in administration but also strongly affecting Vietnamese football life in general and V-League in particular.

This historic event led to many professional football teams that were once the pride of separate localities now "sharing the same roof, the same league" after July 1, 2025, such as Binh Duong Club and Ho Chi Minh City Club, Nam Dinh - Ninh Binh Green Steel, Quang Nam - SHB Da Nang...

Therefore, fans are raising many questions for clubs about their orientation and development after the administrative merger, especially for teams playing in the First Division, which largely depends on local budgets.

Ho Chi Minh City (red shirt) and Binh Duong (white shirt) will be under the same administrative roof after the merger.

Are budget resources enough to "carry" 2 or even 3 professional football teams? And what options are there for localities with many clubs playing in Vietnam's professional leagues? This is a really big question.

With what we see, the possibility of coming here with financial pressure will probably push managers to the easiest option: merge into one entity or worse, "eliminate" unnecessary options to focus resources on 1 club.

Losing a football team is not only losing a club, but also the fading of the identity of an entire region, the loss of tens of thousands of fans who are used to going to the stadium on weekends to cheer for local pride... But, in the movement of the whole society, this must also be accepted.

Golden opportunity for V-League to turn the page

Besides the concerns, reality also opens up many opportunities for Vietnamese football, V-League to really change strongly. The appearance of many local teams will certainly create more competitive and attractive derby matches.

Local "internal" matches always bring special attraction, contributing to increasing the interest of the audience and the media, thereby improving the professional quality of the tournaments.

Quang Nam and Da Nang (orange shirts) are also similar to create new local derbies.

The transformation of Vietnamese football after the merger is inevitable. But whether the transformation is downward or explosive, it depends entirely on the vision and determination of those working in football, the bosses or the clubs themselves.

Hopefully, the names that have left a big mark in the hearts of fans will not be lost and instead, fans will witness the birth of more derbies so that the V-League can turn the page exactly 25 years after moving from amateur to professional.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/bong-da-viet-nam-cho-cuoc-chuyen-minh-sau-sap-nhap-2416853.html