Vietnam Women's Football: Because They Deserve It!

The issue is not about achievements but internal strength. The number of women's clubs has remained countable on one hand for many years, meaning the number of girls playing football has hardly increased, indicating that football is neither a preferred activity nor an appealing career choice socially.

Looking at current clubs, only the strongest women's team in the country, Ho Chi Minh City, has the backing of "Tú," who is also the VFF Vice President. Other women's teams are almost semi-professional, funded mainly by local budgets. Last year, the championship had only 8 teams, with Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi contributing 4 teams, and the other 2 teams coming from northern mountainous regions (Son La, Thai Nguyen).

This is a worrying reality. Usually, higher international success at the national team level promotes grassroots development. Women's football is quite the opposite, almost an internal game among a familiar group of players. Meanwhile, no one knows when the golden era of women's football will end. When the inspiration from victories fades, who will come to women's football? Is the strategy of regularly qualifying for the World Cup feasible?

At the recent Southeast Asian Championship, 15 players on the team were aged 30 or older. On the bench is coach Mai Đức Chung, who probably holds the record for nearly 20 years coaching the national team. There is almost nothing new from when we qualified for the 2023 World Cup to preparing for the 2027 qualifiers. This means if we qualify for the World Cup a second time, it is unlikely we will achieve better results than the first time.

3. It is time to transform Vietnamese women's football, not just by rejuvenating the national team but through a revolution in human resources.

With so few clubs currently, it is difficult for future stars like Huỳnh Như or Trần Thị Thùy Trang to emerge. When these legends began their peak careers, there were more clubs in the league and at least one strong backer in "Tú." But after them, a large gap will appear.

Interestingly, we used to hear many stories about the hardships of female footballers, yet the number of women's teams back then was not less than today. Although players' lives have improved, the number of clubs has declined to the point that a second-tier league cannot be formed. Could the problem lie in the misdirection of the socialization process of women's football?

Only the VFF can answer this question. In the Vietnam Football Development Plan 2030-2045, there is little specific mention of women's football, even though its goals exceed those for men's football. The plan also lacks details on establishing a professional system for women's football, despite this being a global trend.

Is this too difficult? Looking from the first national championship in 1998 until now, some clubs have been maintained regularly. This shows that our determination to develop women's football has not truly matched its potential.

Why can teams like Son La and Thai Nguyen participate in the top league while other localities cannot? Why did T&T of Mr. Hiển invest in men's football and still build a women's club, and why has "Tú" succeeded with the Ho Chi Minh City women's futsal and football teams?

Vietnamese women's football still holds a good position, but signs of decline are evident in the aging and outdated players in the national team. Our female footballers deserve more attention and stronger solutions from both the VFF and social resources.

By the way, for nearly 10 years, the national championship has mainly been sponsored by the Thai Son Bac brand of "Tú," with almost no participation from the usual businesses that sponsor men's football.