Deputy Director of the Vietnam Professional Football Company (VPF), Japanese football specialist Kazuyoshi Tanabe recently claimed in an interview with DTiNews that Vietnam had good conditions for the development of the domestic football league.
Kazuyoshi Tanabe signed a one-year contract with the VPF. He will act as an assistant and consultant for the company’s Chairman Vo Quoc Thang. The contract will be extended if he proves his capacity.
Kazuyoshi Tanabe (left)
Football development needs a long-term roadmap but you’ve just signed a one-year contract with the VPF. Do you think that you can really make a difference in just a year?
That’s right. It’s impossible to achieve anything in such a short period of time, particularly for a country. I need a long-term roadmap to focus on dealing with important current issues in Vietnamese football before developing it.
I think that the one-year contract with VPF is just the initial step. I need a process of between five and 10 years to carry out my plans to reform the Vietnamese football. I really want to work in Vietnamese football for a long time.
Have you worked out things to do with the Vietnamese football first?
Of course, firstly I will study the real situation in terms of the country’s football so that I can adopt a correct viewpoint in order to adopt proper solutions. This is necessary before I can think of a development strategy.
In a recent survey to all member countries, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) delegation undervalued Vietnam’s football infrastructure system compared to some regional nations. What’s your comment?
I’ve visited some local football clubs. Basically, they have infrastructure for training and holding tournaments. However, in the long run, they must upgrade their infrastructure. The quality of the stadiums aren’t very good and equipment is quite old.
Do you plan to bring any Japanese footballers to Vietnam?
This is in my plan. In the strategy of Vietnamese football development, I really want that Japanese and Vietnamese premier leagues can support each other. Therefore, the transfer of players is a prerequisite. I plan to see Vietnamese players play in the J-League. If any Japanese player wants to participate in V-League, I’ll help him. Nevertheless, this is just part of the overall strategy for Vietnamese football development. What I expect are opportunities for clubs from both countries to meet and share experiences, particularly national youth teams.
Do you think that Vietnam can follow Japan’s football model in the future?
It’s really important to maintain a premier league and first division. Without the fear of relegation you encourage complacency. Real competition means you create value and supporters find it more exciting. In the future, Japan will have introduce a third division, so that will force to teams to ensure they don’t get relegated.
It’s impossible to compare Vietnam and Japan and the quality of the football is so different.
Do you think that you can succeed in developing Vietnamese football?
I’m completely confident that I will be successful, because Vietnam has good conditions for football development. I have watched some matches of the on-going Vietnam Super Cup and what impresses me the most is strong support from thousands of fans. This proves Vietnamese people’s love for football, which is a very important factor for to make successes on the way of football development. Plus I’d say that Vietnamese footballers are very good.
I know that Vietnamese football is facing lots of challenges due to economic difficulties. It’s the same in other countries. I believe that Vietnamese football should match other countries in Asia in the near future.
