What changes lie ahead for Vietnamese football and the V-League as provinces with their own clubs are merged under new administrative structures?

When rivals suddenly become family

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Ho Chi Minh City (in red) and Binh Duong (in white) now fall under the same administrative unit post-merger.

The recent administrative mergers across Vietnam are creating ripple effects not only in governance but also in the world of football - especially the professional leagues.

This landmark transition has led to several formerly independent provincial football clubs now being grouped under a single local government from July 1, 2025. This includes cases such as Binh Duong FC and Ho Chi Minh City FC, Thep Xanh Nam Dinh – Ninh Binh, and Quang Nam – SHB Da Nang.

As a result, fans and analysts are raising numerous questions about the future direction and development of these clubs, particularly those in the First Division (V.League 2), which heavily depend on local government budgets.

The pressing question: can local budgets sustain two or even three professional football clubs? For provinces with multiple teams across various league levels, this poses a significant dilemma.

Given the financial pressure, local authorities may be pushed toward a seemingly practical yet painful decision: merging clubs into one entity or, worse, dissolving less essential teams to consolidate resources.

Losing a team isn’t just the disappearance of a football club - it means the erosion of a region’s identity and the disillusionment of thousands of fans accustomed to rallying around their hometown team every weekend. But within the broader societal shift, such outcomes may be inevitable.

A golden opportunity for the V-League to turn a new page

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Quang Nam and Da Nang (in orange) are another pairing that could spark thrilling local derbies.

Amid these concerns, there are also undeniable opportunities for Vietnamese football and the V-League to make a bold leap forward. The emergence of multiple clubs from the same locality paves the way for high-stakes local derbies that are fiercely competitive and highly engaging.

These intra-provincial showdowns have always generated special excitement, drawing crowds and media attention while elevating the league’s overall quality.

The post-merger transformation of Vietnamese football is inevitable. Whether that transformation leads to decline or resurgence depends entirely on the vision and decisiveness of football executives, club owners, and the clubs themselves.

There’s hope that storied names won't vanish but instead give rise to more intense derbies, helping the V-League usher in a new era - exactly 25 years after it first transitioned from amateur to professional status.

Duy Nguyen