Vietnam football experts complain about interruptions in top-tier league due to int’l tourneys

According to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF)’s timetable, March will be filled with the U20 Vietnamese team’s participation in the final round of the 2023 AFC U20 Asia Cup from March 1 to 18, the first call-up of Vietnam U23s to prepare for the 2023 Southeast Asian Games from May 5 to 17, the 2023 National Cup (whose date has yet to be decided), and FIFA Days (dates that can be used for ‘official’ and ‘friendly’ men’s international matches).

This timetable means that teams competing in the 2023 V-League 1, which is scheduled to take place every weekend from February 3 to August 20, will have to unwillingly let their players take two long breaks from late February to early April and from mid April to mid May.

These interruptions are set against the arrangements of club coaches, who worry about players’ bad club performances.

“I’ve talked a lot about this since 2017 but the situation continues and clubs have no choice but to adapt to it,” said Nguyen Duc Thang, coach of TopenLand Binh Dinh FC, who are sitting atop the league’s standings.

“It has already been too much for the V-League 1 teams to take a long break to prioritize the national team’s schedule,” said Vu Hong Viet, coach of Nam Dinh FC, who are in third place.

“Now, having more breaks because of the U20 team’s schedule is very inappropriate.

“Clubs need to raise their voice in arranging the league schedule.”

Chu Dinh Nghiem, coach of Hai Phong FC, in sixth, is also upset that the players have to take a break for nearly 50 days when they just get into form after the first four rounds of the league.

“After the break, coaches must recalculate their plans while players will have to take time to regain their pace,” Nghiem said.

“It is really inconvenient, affecting all aspects of the teams such as game plans and finances,” said Nguyen Thanh Cong, coach of seventh-place Hong Linh Ha Tinh FC.

Meanwhile, some other coaches think the upcoming long break will be good opportunities for their teams to improve gameplay and tactics.

‘Transition’ season

The 2023 V-League 1 is the last season the Vietnamese top-tier league is played from February to August.

From the 2023-24 season, the tourney will follow the European football leagues’ schedule, from October or November 2023 to June 2024, and will resume the two-legged format.

Tran Anh Tu, a VFF standing member, once affirmed that the change of format was on the recommendation of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), in sync with the schedule of Asian and Southeast Asian tournaments.

Therefore, inadequacies and disadvantages for clubs during such a transition are inevitable.

No changes in Thai League schedule

At the end of November 2022, clubs in Thai League 1, the top level of the Thai football league system, rejected the request of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) to change the 2022-23 season’s schedule in order to facilitate the Thai U23 team’s participation in the 2023 Southeast Asian Games.

The 2022-23 Thai League 1 is scheduled to end on May 14, 2023 while the 2023 Games in Cambodia will take place from May 5 to 17.

FAT proposed that the Thai League 1 schedule end earlier so that the Thai U23 team could prepare for the Games.

But FAT’s plan fell through after protests from clubs.

At the delayed 2021 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam in May 2022, Thailand’s head coach Alexandre Polking also faced difficulties as Thai League 1 clubs did not release players for call-ups.

As a result, the U23 Thai team only had their first full-squad training two days before the opening match.

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A number of football experts in Vietnam have voiced their disapproval of long breaks in V-League 1 play, the top professional football league in the country, caused by call-ups for international competitions.