HÀ NỘI National football leagues will switch to a new timetable in the 2023 season to match international schedules.

The Việt Nam Professional Football Company (VPF) has recently announced its plan for the V.League 1, V.League 2 and the National Cup.

The new season will start with the National Super Cup, between the winner of the V.League and the champion of the National Cup, on January 29, 2023.

V.League 1 will begin on February 3 and end on August 20.

The format of the tournament will be different, split in two periods.

Fourteen teams will compete in the round-robin in the first period. In the second period, the six strongest teams will vie for the championship title while the other eight will play to avoid relegation.

This format was applied during the COVID-19 pandemic time in 2020.

The V.League 2 will start on February 4, 2023, and wrap up on August 19, with the same format as the V.League 1.

The National Cup, where club play in a knockout format, is planned from March 18, to August 27, 2023, the last day of the season.

It makes 2023 the shortest season in history as it will happen in only five months and a half.

The shortening of the time is to prepare for the historic 2023-24 season, when Vietnamese football switches to a schedule similar to the world's top football tournaments, taking place from September and ending in May of the following year.

Previously, the Vietnamese football season began a month early and closed by the end of the year.

The change is made following the recommendation of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the world football governing body (FIFA). It will help Asian clubs and teams participate in the competitions held by these two agencies.

Meanwhile, it will also ensure the synchronisation of the transfer window of the national football federations in the region with the top European club tournaments. As a result, clubs can exchange and recruit quality players and coaches.

There will be two rests for clubs throughout the season when the U20 players compete at the AFC Asian Cup final in March and the U23 take part in the 32nd SEA Games in May.

In 2023, VPF also brings the video assistant referee (VAR) to the tournaments while clubs are allowed to sign contracts with one Vietnamese overseas player. VNS