The Vietnam Professional Football Company appointed a younger general director and will attempt to overhaul its operations after widespread criticism of the quality of the domestic V-League.
The new VPF general director is Cao Van Chong, born in 1979. Chong only has three years of experience as the CEO of Becamex Binh Duong Football Club. Former director Pham Ngoc Vien and vice chairman Tran Duy Ly resigned from their current positions.
Cao Van Chong
VPF chairman Vo Quoc Thang said younger people with new ideas would help to improve Vietnamese football.
Even though Pham Ngoc Vien was still in the middle of his second term, criticism over the shambolic state of the V-League prompted a call for more action. The VPF has been heavily criticised for the quality of V-League.
A series of recent controversial issues has called the management of the V-League into question. Recent incidents include a player having their leg broken in an apparently deliberate foul, while Haiphong FC chairman Tran Manh Hung said the VPF had been avoiding answering match-fixing accusations in matches between Haiphong and Can Tho or Hoang Anh Gia Lai versus Song Lam Nghe An.
Former The Cong player Vu Manh Hai said the football federation should concentrate on investing more into the country’s football clubs rather than worrying about new tournaments. He went on to say that VPF should be working independently, not under the management of Vietnam Football Federation.
"Cutting the average age of the staff isn’t as important as the independence of VPF," he said. "By being independent, the VPF and VFF can criticise and help each other to improve."
