Brian Jeffrey
After the close of the V-League 2023/2024 season, a regional football review site revealed the top 10 clubs across Southeast Asia that drew the most fans. Surprisingly, the V-League took the lead, surpassing Malaysia’s Super League, Indonesia’s Liga I, and Thailand’s Thai-League in average game attendance.
Among the top 10 clubs by average spectators were two from the V-League: Thep Xanh Nam Dinh (4th) and Hai Phong (8th). This announcement brought unexpected delight to Vietnamese football enthusiasts, given the recent struggles of the national teams in regional and continental contests.
Despite the positive statistics and regional prominence, underlying issues paint a different picture. Vietnamese football still trails Thailand and Malaysia in the national league ranking, impacting the spots allocated for the AFC Champions League.
In the upcoming season, Thailand will have two clubs in the AFC Champions League and one in the AFC Cup. Similarly, Malaysia will send one club to the AFC Champions League and another to the AFC Cup. In contrast, Vietnam will only feature two clubs in the AFC Cup: Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa. These V-League representatives were recently permitted to partake in AFC competitions with conditional penalties from the VFF licensing committee.
Furthermore, only Hanoi FC and CAHN from Vietnam meet the A-level standards for AFC club competition, which include youth development programs and proper player medical care.
While the V-League’s position might appear improved, Vietnamese clubs have yet to leave a significant mark on the continental stage compared to Thai-League counterparts. The disparity between impressive attendance and shortcomings in technical quality, organization, image, and refereeing standards highlights the league’s areas of weakness.
Securing the top spot in Southeast Asia for fan attendance is commendable, but the V-League must make strides in overall quality and professionalism. This disparity between perception and reality emphasizes that high attendance figures are not necessarily a reason for jubilation.
Duy Nguyen
