Football

 

HÀ NỘI Thép Xanh Nam Định will begin their title defence against Hải Phòng in the opening match of the national premier league, V.League 1, at home in Thiên Trường Stadium.

The draw for the 2025-26 season was held on July 14 in Hà Nội.

The season will open on August 9, with the National Super Cup match between V.League 1 champions, Nam Định, and National Cup winners, Hà Nội Police, and end on June 28, 2026, with the National Cup final.

The V.League 1, sponsored by LPBank will start on August 15, featuring 14 clubs. There will be a total of 182 matches over 26 rounds.

The first games will also see Quảng Nam play Sông Lam Nghệ An, Hoàng Anh Gia Lai take on Becamex HCM City, Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh face Ninh Bình, Thanh Hóa against SHB Đà Nẵng, HCM City Police to host Hà Nội, and Hà Nội Police play Thể Công-Viettel.

All matches will be broadcast live via FPT Play's multi-platform channels such as cable, satellite, IPTV, Internet, mobile and social networks.

The winners will lift the championship trophy and a purse of VNĐ5 billion. The second and third-placed teams will collect VNĐ3 billion and VNĐ1.5 billion, respectively.

 

A big change for the new season is that the two teams in the bottom places will be relegated. Previously, the bottom team was dropped automatically while the one in the penultimate position took part in a play-off with the V.League 2's second-placed team to vie for a slot in the V.League 1 next season.

It is to help the tournament remain competitive until the final matches.

The organisers also adjusted the number of foreign players registered for the season.

Specifically, teams that will take part in the Asian Football Confederation events can have up to seven foreigners, while the rest can register a maximum of four. In local matches, a maximum of three foreign players are allowed on the field at any time.

Also at the draw, the organisers believed that the merging of localities recently made some cities and provinces have more than one club, creating exciting derbies.

They also hoped that the merger would help improve football management and development to suit the capacity and actual conditions of localities. Meanwhile, it will increase the fan base with identity, brand and be associated with local traditions.

Trần Anh Tú, Việt Nam Football Federation vice president, said VFF would buy one more VAR unit which would be based in the central area to reinforce the decision-making process, supporting referees in their job in matches of SHB Đà Nẵng, Quảng Nam, Sông Lam Nghệ An and Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh.

"Adding another VAR unit will help us increase the number of matches with VAR support while reducing travel cost and improving equipment operation efficiency in the central region," Tú said.

He said referee training and supervision work would be improved to ensure more accurate decisions and eliminate clear and obvious refereeing errors.

“Last season, referees still made mistakes in terms of expertise and officiating matches. They all received suitable discipline," said Tú.

"To prepare for the season, VFF upgraded the referee training plan, inviting FIFA instructors to directly take charge of the training to improve their working quality and minimise errors."

He added that the organisers would try hard to help referees play their professional role well and not depend on VAR technology. VNS