Members of the national team celebrate after scoring in the match against Malaysia in the second round of World Cup qualifiers in the UAE last month. Photo: vov.vn

Peter Cowan

HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Football Federation (VFF) has received in-principle approval from health authorities to host the national team’s upcoming 2022 World Cup qualifiers at home.

At a meeting on Wednesday between the VFF, the culture ministry, the Ministry of Health, and Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam, head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, the VFF’s proposal for hosting the five matches in the third round of World Cup qualifiers was approved.

Health authorities requested that all members of visiting teams must have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and provide a negative COVID-19 test before arriving in Việt Nam.

The VFF will also work with Hà Nội authorities to ensure members of the visiting teams and their support staff along with all visiting officials stay within protective “bubbles” to minimise the risk of spreading the virus, as the matches will likely be held at the city’s Mỹ Đình Stadium.

The “bubble” approach was used with success for the final matches in the second round of qualification in the UAE last month.

A decision on whether supporters can attend the matches will be made at a later date and will depend on the COVID-19 situation in the country and city at that time.

With the proposal approved, the VFF and other authorities will work to iron out the full details between now and Việt Nam’s first home qualifier against Australia on September 7.

Previously, it was reported that the VFF may have been forced to hold the matches overseas due to worsening COVID-19 outbreaks in Việt Nam.

This is the first time Việt Nam have ever played in the third and final round of qualification. They will play in Group B along with Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, China and Oman for a spot at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. VNS