Chairman of Quảng Ninh Coal club of V.League 1, Phạm Thanh Hùng (right) and head coach Mai Đức Chung of the Vietnamese women’s football team at the SEA Games 30 last year. — Photo baomoi.com

HÀ NỘI — Despite being chairman of Quảng Ninh Coal of the V.League 1, Phạm Thanh Hùng only became widely known after he gave VNĐ3 billion (US$130,400)  of his own money as a reward to the national women's football team for winning the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games 30 last year.

While some said he used the money to gain fame, Hùng has retorted that if VNĐ3 billion was enough to earn fame, a lot of people would do it.

“I rewarded the players simply because I thought I needed to do something to motivate them. Our female players are talented, resilient and enthusiastic but most of them struggle in life. Most footballers save to send money to their families. I would like to contribute a little bit of my effort to help them as well as and be grateful to them,” said Hùng.

In addition to his role as chairman of Quảng Ninh, he is also head of the Women's Football Department of the Việt Nam Football Federation.

“Since the success of the SEA Games 30 in which Việt Nam won a gold medal, women's football has received much attention from society, things are gradually getting better. But to develop comprehensively and create a breakthrough, women's football needs to expand youth training. The number of young female aces playing football is too few,” said Hùng.

“Every club and every province must have a separate training centre for women, then new opportunities will arise. In addition, we must create more playgrounds for female players, helping them grow up. Naturally, to do this requires a long-term strategy and co-operation from all of society,” Hùng added.

Born and raised in a sports family in Quảng Ninh Province, Hùng always loved the beautiful game as a youth he often walked for miles to watch football.

Currently, he is chairman of the board of Hà Giang Gold Mineral Expolotion Joint Stock Company and the main shareholder of Đông Bắc Construction Mine Industrial Joint Stock Company.

In 2014, Hùng became chairman of Quảng Ninh Coal and the team surged to finish fourth in the table.

Quảng Ninh Coal Supporters Association also made developed in this period, offering full-throated support to their team and becoming one of the top supporters associations in the league.

Things have changed for the club since Hùng took over, as he aimed to develop stability, sustainability and identity for the team, with clean football the goal.

While Quảng Ninh have yet to taste sweet trophy success, the team is certainly one on the up.

“Over the years, team leaders and I focused on building the foundation for the team with youth training. Initially, it proved effective, but to win, there was a lack of things. The biggest shortage for Quảng Ninh is the source of talented young players. I think Hà Nội maintain their dominance thanks to their very good young training, their players are high quality,” said Hùng. — VNS