Representatives of the National Assembly Television, VMG Media and Việt Nam Sports Administration take part in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup broadcast rights announcement on May 25 in Hà Nội. — Photo courtesy of VGM Media

HÀ NỘI — The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup will be broadcasted in Việt Nam this summer by National Assembly Television and VMG Media, who announced their executive broadcasting rights in the country on Thursday in Hà Nội.

The national women's football team of Việt Nam secured a berth at the Australia and New Zealand tournament. It is the first time for the team at the largest global competition for women's football. The Southeast Asian Games champion will play the powerhouses of the USA (July 22), the Netherlands (July 27) and Portugal (August 1) in Group E in New Zealand.

Following their announcement, VMG Media has become the exclusive owner of commercial exploitation and distribution of broadcasting rights for FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 on different platforms such as free and paid terrestrial televisions, cable, OTT, mobile network, IPTV, and public projection in the territory of Việt Nam.

VMG then reached an agreement to broadcast the match with National Assembly TV, which will air live and replay all three matches of the Việt Nam team on its channel 7. VTVcab is a unit that coordinates with National Assembly TV in producing matches and programmes.

“It is an important event of National Assembly TV to win the World Cup broadcast rights. It is a historic milestone of the national football in particular and Việt Nam sport in general. It is our honour to accompany the national team and millions of supporters in this tournament," said Lê Quang Minh, general director of National Assembly TV.

Minh added that along with the matches, National Assembly TV will produce sideline programmes featuring the World Cup environment, along with stories and highlights to bring updated information and news to the Vietnamese audience during the July 20-August 20 event.

On the other side, Lương Minh Tuấn, VMG Media general director, said: "It is difficult to bring the World Cup matches to Việt Nam. But it is nothing compared to the miracle mission that the Golden Star women have made. It is the main reason that we decided to buy the World Cup broadcasting rights so that Vietnamese supporters can watch and encourage the team nationwide."

VMG Media is a pioneer group in the field of telecommunications and mobile services in Việt Nam, providing many digital content services in various fields such as: music copyright, sports, entertainment, SMS brand name and big data. Among them, the field of sports and entertainment content will be VMG's focused strategy. The 2023 World Cup will be the opening event that marks VMG's first entry into international sports copyrights.

Speaking at the event, head coach Mai Đức Chung shared that he was proud to be the one of 32 finalists of the 2023 World Cup. On behalf of his players, Chung promised that the team would play their best for the highest results.

Việt Nam preparation

After defending their SEA Games title, the national team began their training campaign early this week in Hà Nội.

They will have a training camp in Germany and Poland from June 5-25. They will compete with Eintracht Frankfurt on June 10, Short Mainz on June 15, the Polish U23s on June 21 and the national team of Germany on June 24.

Vietnamese football players training in Hà Nội. The team has begun their preparation for the July 20-August 20 World Cup campaign. Photo of VFF

"Winning a berth in the World Cup is a miracle for Việt Nam as we overcame challenges to make this historic milestone. The event and the journey of the team have attracted people's attention. VFF will create favourable conditions for the team so that they will have the best result in Australia and New Zealand," said VFF President Trần Quốc Tuấn.

Tuấn added that the team will be sent to New Zealand early in July to become familiar with the weather and facilities. They will have a friendly match against the hosts on July 10 at McLean Park in Napier and another match with Spain at a date to be confirmed later.

"We have been back to training with high determination in preparation for the World Cup. The recent SEA Games triumph is a good warm-up for us prior to the global competition," said captain Huỳnh Như, who is considering extending her contract with Portuguese side Lank FC.

Competing in Portugal for about 10 months, Như has had a great chance to sharpen her technique and understand European players. The national star believed that Việt Nam could do great in the World Cup. 

“While in Portugal, I have found that confidence is key when competing in Europe, otherwise I would be dominated by big and tall rivals who are strong and aggressive. They are not afraid to have fierce collisions in both practice and matches. However, because of their big bodies their moves are not as fast as Asians. As you can see, I still play well at Lank. Therefore, I believe that Vietnamese players, besides being confident, can also use technical skill and a smart playing style to make more miracles in the World Cup," Như said. — VNS