Đông Á Thanh Hóa FC won the National Cup after a penalty shootout against Hà Nội FC, which earned their spot in the AFC Champions League 2. But two weeks later, they decided to back out. — VNA/VNS  Photo Cương Quyết

Anh Đức

A domestic cup winner forfeiting their right to enter a continental competition must be a tale that would happen in underdeveloped and unprofessional scenes.

However, this was a real situation in Vietnamese football, as 2024 National Cup winner Đông Á Thanh Hóa has asked the AFC to allow their forfeiture at the 2024-25 AFC Champions League 2, citing a tight schedule.

The AFC accepted Thanh Hóa's decision but did not allow the VFF to choose a replacement team.

In recent years, few Vietnamese teams found success at the former AFC Cup, Asian football's tier-two club competition, with only Hà Nội FC and Becamex Bình Dương FC making the semifinals. In the old AFC Champions League, none ever made it out of the group stage.

As a new format of the AFC Champions Leagues went into effect this season, teams from more developed football leagues such as in Japan and Korea would also enter the second tier, where Vietnamese champions Nam Định and Thanh Hóa would play. This means that the chance to claim victory and progress further would be slimmer.

Vietnamese teams this season have their sights set on a much more undemanding international competition, which is the newly announced ASEAN Club Championship, where the football gap is smaller and the chance for local glory is greater. The choice for V-League clubs is simple: risking a whole season playing in four different competitions where a single injury might sabotage everything, or forfeiting one and having the chance to rotate better and to do well in the remaining.

And sure you cannot forfeit the V-League or the National Cup. This would leave the two regional competitions, where a forfeiture of the inaugural ASEAN Club Competition is also frowned upon.

This decision, albeit understandable for Thanh Hóa in the short term, but would have detrimental consequences in the long run for Vietnamese football.

First off, the coefficiency ranking of Việt Nam will be punished and may cause fewer spots for Vietnamese teams in continental competitions. This might lead to a less attractive V-League, and repel foreign talents and/or players of Vietnamese descent who wish to return to the league.

The reputation of Vietnamese football is also damaged, at a time when the results in both national team setups and club competitions have not been so great.

Thanh Hóa still have time to reconsider their decision, but should Velizar Popov's men still push on, the AFC should have some leniency to agree for the VFF to send a replacement, and the National Cup runners-up Hà Nội FC would be a logical choice.

But this instance should never again happen if Vietnamese football wants to level up their game in the future. — VNS