At the end of the 2024-2025 season, 18 Vietnamese football coaches went to Japan on July 1 to participate in the Pro/AFC/VFF professional football coach training course phase 2.
"Unemployed" due to lack of qualifications
Many V-League teams will have major changes in their coaching staff from the end of the 2024-2025 season. Many Vietnamese coaches will be "unemployed" before the new season because they do not have a professional football coaching certificate Pro/AFC/VFF.
Having contributed greatly to helping Ho Chi Minh City FC successfully stay in the V-League for two consecutive seasons, even finishing 4th in the V-League 2023-2024, Coach Phung Thanh Phuong unexpectedly did not renew his contract with the Thong Nhat Stadium team. The reason why the strategist born in 1978 made this decision was because he had not completed the Pro/AFC/VFF professional football coach training course. After going through a difficult season, Coach Phung Thanh Phuong temporarily wanted to rest and participate in the Pro/AFC/VFF professional football coach training course.
Coach Nguyen Viet Thang also contributed greatly to helping Ninh Binh FC win the First Division this season, winning the only ticket to V-League promotion. However, because he does not have a Pro-level coaching certificate, the former Vietnam national team striker was forced to give up the position of head coach of Ninh Binh FC to a Spanish colleague, unable to play alongside his students in the 2025-2026 V-League.
Coach Nguyen Thanh Cong also said goodbye to Ha Tinh Club after the V-League 2024-2025 ended. The Nghe An coach wants to spend time improving and upgrading his professional skills by participating in a professional football coach training course.
18 Vietnamese coaches are attending the Pro/AFC/VFF training course in Japan. (Photo: VFF)
Women's football also has to overcome difficulties
AFC stipulates that from the 2025-2026 season, the head coach of a club must have a Pro/AFC/VFF coach certificate. This also causes difficulties for Vietnamese women's football.
Currently, Coach Van Thi Thanh is the only person who has this advanced coaching certificate. Van Thi Thanh said that the journey to reach this certificate lasted 12 years, starting with the C certificate. The Pro AFC course alone took her 2 years to complete.
However, former female players are still striving to pursue this path alongside male strategists. Coach Nguyen Thi Mai Lan (Coaching Board of Vietnam's young women's team) is with a group of 18 coaches in Japan to attend the second phase of the Pro/AFC/VFF course organized by VFF and JFA. Coach Kim Chi completed her B certificate at the end of 2024 and is aiming for higher levels.
Coach Kim Chi has set many historical milestones for women's football in Ho Chi Minh City and the whole country. However, that success was not fully recognized in name, when she could not be named as the head coach of Ho Chi Minh City Women's Club in the Asian Women's Cup 1 because she only had a B license, and had to give up her position to Coach Nguyen Hong Pham and Lu Dinh Tuan.
In the national women's team, coach Mai Duc Chung will end his contract leading the team at the end of this year. This coaching position also requires a Pro coaching certificate. Currently, the head coach position of the women's team has only 2 candidates, Van Thi Thanh and Kim Chi. It is likely that the VFF will award the head coach position to a foreign coach so that these 2 female strategists can take on the role of assistant to gain experience and complete their degrees.
The Pro Football Coach Certificate Training Course in early July 2025 is the third course organized by AFC in collaboration with VFF, the previous two courses were in 2015-2017 and 2022-2023. In the list of 18 coaches going to Japan this time, there are many famous names such as: Bui Doan Quang Huy (Binh Dinh Club), Nguyen Viet Thang (Ninh Binh Club), Van Sy Son (Quang Nam Club), Vu Hong Viet ( Nam Dinh Club), Phan Nhu Thuat (Song Lam Nghe An Club), Nguyen Thanh Cong (Ha Tinh Club)...
Phase 2 of the Pro/AFC/VFF training course will take place from July 1 to 21 in Japan. After completing this phase, the trainees will continue with phase 3 from August to November 2025 at football clubs or centers; phase 4 in December 2025 in Vietnam.
This will be an important foundation to help Vietnamese coaches improve their professional capacity, meet the standards to participate in national professional tournaments and AFC tournaments.
Commenting on the AFC's application of new standards for head coaches in the V-League from the 2025-2026 season, football expert Doan Minh Xuong said that this is a way to help raise the level of Vietnamese football and improve the professional quality of the tournament.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/nang-tam-chuyen-mon-hlv-bong-da-viet-196250703214649196.htm
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