2026 National Women's Football Championship: First-Time Adoption of Home-and-Away Format

This season marks a major transformation for Vietnamese women's football, as it is organized for the first time in a league format featuring home and away matches. This is considered a significant milestone, designed to give clubs opportunities to compete and promote their local image, while allowing fans across the country to watch and cheer for the female players in person. The aim is to bring women's football closer to the community and gradually enhance the professionalism of the tournament.

In his opening speech, Mr. Nguyen Van Phu, General Secretary of the Vietnam Football Federation and Head of the Organizing Committee, stated that the implementation of the home-and-away format not only strengthens clubs' connections with local areas and supporters but also contributes to creating a more professional competitive environment for the players. Additionally, the Vietnam Football Federation is piloting the licensing of women's football clubs, with the goal of improving governance systems and operational conditions according to modern standards, thereby gradually raising the quality of the tournament.

The 2026 National Women's Football Championship – Thai Son Bac Cup features 7 participating teams: Hanoi I, Hanoi II, Thai Nguyen T&T, Than Khoang San Vietnam, Phong Phu Ha Nam, Ho Chi Minh City I, and Ho Chi Minh City II. The teams will compete in a double round-robin under a home-and-away format from June 20 to October 23, 2026, to accumulate points and determine the final ranking.

The champion will receive the Cup, Gold Medals, and a prize of 500 million VND, along with the right to represent Vietnam in the 2027–2028 AFC Women's Club Championship.

Immediately after the opening ceremony, the match between host team Thai Nguyen T&T and Phong Phu Ha Nam took place. On the first matchday of the season, there were also two other pairings: Ho Chi Minh City I vs. Ho Chi Minh City II and Hanoi I vs. Hanoi II.

According to the Organizing Committee, this season includes 16 matches broadcast live on the VTVCab ecosystem and the Vietnam Football Federation's platforms; the remaining 26 matches will be streamed live on the YouTube VFF Channel, helping to spread the image of women's football to a wide audience nationwide.