Vietnam football experts complain about interruptions in top-tier league due to int’l tourneys
According to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF)’s timetable, March will be filled with the U20 Vietnamese team’s participation in the final round of the 2023 AFC U20 Asia Cup from March 1 to 18, the first call-up of Vietnam U23s to prepare for the 2023 Southeast Asian Games from May 5 to 17, the 2023 National Cup (whose date has yet to be decided), and FIFA Days (dates that can be used for ‘official’ and ‘friendly’ men’s international matches). This timetable means that teams competing in the 2023 V-League 1, which is scheduled to take place every weekend from February 3 to August 20, will have to unwillingly let their players take two long breaks from late February to early April and from mid April to mid May. These interruptions are set against the arrangements of club coaches, who worry about players’ bad club performances. “I’ve talked a lot about this since 2017 but the situation continues and clubs have no choice but to adapt to it,” said Nguyen Duc Thang, coach o...