Three Candidates for VFF Chairman: When Bank Money Enters Vietnamese Football's Boardroom

On 21/10, the VFF published its candidate list for the 10th-term Executive Committee (2026–2030). One name appears twice: Tran Quoc Tuan, for Chairman and for Vice Chairman in charge of professional affairs. Another name also appears twice: Nguyen Duc Thuy, for Chairman and for Vice Chairman in charge of finance and sponsorship mobilization. Beside them sits LPBank, the main sponsor of the V-League. I am used to watching 88th-minute penalties, where technique matters less than nerve. This time, the pulse rises over a sheet of paper. When the old wave recedes, I step onto a new platform – my voice remains my own. Vietnamese football is entering a match without a ball, but with a score.

The VFF 10th-term congress is scheduled for January 2027. Term IX (2026–2026) closes after a cycle of turbulence at national-team and V-League level. The nomination deadline is 19/10; the list was published on 21/10. The two-day gap between those dates is enough for observers to hypothesize about internal vetting. The list must then pass review by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism before formal confirmation. The three Chairman candidates are Tran Quoc Tuan, Nguyen Duc Thuy and Nguyen Xuan Vu. Tran Quoc Tuan is the incumbent Chairman. Nguyen Duc Thuy was born in 2026, is a first-time candidate, and is linked to construction and banking circles. Nguyen Xuan Vu is the incumbent Vice Chairman for Communications and Foreign Affairs. For Vice Chairman in charge of professional affairs, the candidates are Tran Huy Duc, Tran Quoc Tuan and Tran Anh Tu. For Vice Chairman in charge of finance and sponsorship mobilization, there are six candidates, including Nguyen Duc Thuy, Vu Quoc Khanh, Nguyen Trung Kien and Le Van Thanh. Nguyen Xuan Vu is the only candidate without an opponent, for Communications and Foreign Affairs.

What is easy to miss in a congress report is the structure of the seats. The Chairman seat has three candidates, the professional seat has three, and Communications and Foreign Affairs has one. The finance and sponsorship seat has six. Based on my experience covering matches and congresses, a concentration of candidates usually reflects where real power lies. The Vice Chairman for Finance and Sponsorship Mobilization is the real center of power in the VFF's 10th term, because it controls the money flows on which the V-League, national teams and youth development system all depend. A chairman who wants to change Vietnamese football needs money. A vice chairman for professional affairs who wants to implement a philosophy also needs money. Six candidates for one seat show that multiple interest groups see a door in.

Look at the professional seat. Tran Anh Tu holds two positions: VFF Vice Chairman in Term IX and Chairman of the VPF board. The VPF operates the professional leagues. The professional seat therefore does not stop at choosing a head coach or building a national-team pathway. It touches scheduling, competition conditions, and resource allocation between national teams and clubs. A person sitting at the VFF–VPF intersection can create continuity, or can create a role conflict if oversight is unclear. The lesson from many football nations is that the professional seat is undervalued on voting day, and months later people see it decides almost everything on the pitch.

The LPBank story is the hottest point. The bank is the main sponsor of the V-League. Nguyen Duc Thuy is running for Chairman and for the finance seat. Vu Quoc Khanh, LPBank's chief executive, is also on the candidate list for the finance seat. A major sponsor has representation at federation leadership level, while a chairman candidate is linked to it. That creates advantages in knowledge and resources. It also raises questions about neutrality in sponsorship negotiations, broadcasting rights allocation, and how V-League commercial decisions are explained. I do not rush to assign bad motives. I only note that an organization seeking sustainability needs to disclose how it handles conflicts of interest before voters cast ballots.

Two candidates are running for multiple seats at once. Tran Quoc Tuan stands for Chairman and for Vice Chairman in charge of professional affairs. Nguyen Duc Thuy stands for Chairman and for finance. This raises a procedural question: whether VFF statutes allow one person to contest multiple portfolios at the same congress. The report does not cite a specific clause. Strategically, an incumbent chairman adding a professional-affairs seat is often read as a fallback. A person fully confident of the top seat may not need a second option. In the other direction, a newcomer like Nguyen Duc Thuy standing for both chairman and finance shows an ambition to control both money and direction.

Nguyen Xuan Vu is the stable point. He has no opponent for Communications and Foreign Affairs. The result is effectively pre-announced, regardless of who wins the Chairmanship. That safety may come from recognized performance, or from other power centers having little appetite for the portfolio. For a federation, communications and foreign affairs is less attractive than finance or professional affairs, but it is where Vietnamese football speaks to the region. An uncontested seat saves organizational energy, while placing a higher transparency demand on the remaining seats.

The familiar narrative about this congress is a contest between private capital and institutional continuity. That narrative is partly right, but it misses the core. The Chairman race has three candidates. The race to control money has six. A chairman who does not hold the finance seat will struggle to deliver promises. A professional vice chairman without a voice at the VPF will struggle to change schedules or league operations. Power in modern football lies in sponsorship contracts, broadcasting rights and development funds. Whoever controls those flows shapes the term, even without sitting in the highest chair. At 56, I still ask one question: where are women scoring in this game? Among the named candidates for the key seats, there is no woman. A national federation with millions of female fans needs more than a representative photograph.

What the report lacks is a platform from each candidate. There is no statement on naturalization policy, domestic-player quotas, funding for women's football, youth scholarships, or broadcasting revenue sharing. VFF voters vote on reputation and relationships more than on manifestos. That is the reality of many federations. But a 2026–2030 term under competitive pressure needs more than verbal promises. Publishing platforms helps the public monitor, and gives candidates a yardstick to judge themselves after four years.

The biggest risk for the 10th term is the conflict of interest between sponsor and decision-maker. The second risk is the procedural gap around multiple candidacies. The third is the two-ministry review, which could remove a candidate or delay the congress. From October 2026 to January 2027 is roughly 14 to 15 months. That is long enough for candidates to campaign, adjust the list and negotiate behind the scenes. It is also long enough for the public to forget initial commitments. A transparent election needs a timely list. It also needs published platforms, assessment criteria and an accountability mechanism after the vote.

For V-League clubs, the congress outcome can hit budgets directly. If LPBank expands or adjusts its sponsorship after the result, the league's cash flow changes. If the finance seat goes to another group, broadcasting rights and support-fund allocation may differ. For youth academies, the professional seat decides coaching standards, youth schedules and the pathway to national teams. For fans, what they see is ticket prices, broadcast schedules and league quality. All of that passes through the boardroom before it reaches the pitch. Following the VFF congress is therefore following a match that may have no goals but changes the whole season.

For coaches and parents, the professional seat decides a young player's pathway. Selection standards, training hours, nutrition, injury treatment and the chance to reach a professional youth team all depend on the VFF's technical direction. A professional vice chairman with a development background will prioritize long-term growth. A person with league-management experience will prioritize short-term competitiveness. Both have a case. What is needed is to state the choice before receiving votes.

The signals to watch from now to the congress are: whether the list changes, the two ministries' review results, each candidate's platform, and how LPBank adjusts its V-League sponsorship. A small change in any of these four signals can shift the balance. Vietnamese football has seen congresses end with behind-the-scenes agreements before voting. This time, the public has more tools to observe. That creates transparency pressure, and opens opportunities for candidates willing to publish their platforms.

Vietnamese football is learning to govern itself at a higher level. Three candidates, six candidates, two review ministries and one major sponsor sit in the same picture. The dressing-room voice, the voice of players and clubs, needs to enter the boardroom before decisions on money and power are sealed. The January 2027 congress will choose a chairman. It will also choose how Vietnamese football answers a simple question: who gets a seat at the table when the commercial score is written?