After professional progress, Vietnamese volleyball is facing the requirement to improve commercial value. However, to sell tickets, attract sponsorship or develop accompanying products, the tournament must first create characters that audiences want to watch.
Not yet built an image
Vietnamese volleyball is not short of athletes who are of interest to fans. Each person has their own story, from the journey of competing abroad, overcoming injuries, competing for positions to the process of maturity from youth tournaments.
However, those stories have only been exploited disjointedly by the press or community pages.
Most clubs still focus media on the schedule, results and achievements. Player images mainly appear in the starting lineup, pre-match announcements or a few short interviews after the match.
Therefore, fans know the player through scoring or defending, but understand little about personality, training process or life behind the field.
Activities to interact with the audience are also limited. After the match, players often leave the field, while fans can only ask for autographs or take photos spontaneously. This distance makes it difficult for love to develop into a long-term bond with the team.
From love to commercial value
In professional sports, players not only bring achievements but also contribute to ticket sales, attracting audiences, promoting sponsors and developing commercial products.
An athlete with a good image can completely attract spectators to the stadium even if the team is not a championship candidate. Fans are willing to buy jerseys, signed photos or participate in exchanges if connected to idols.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese volleyball has not yet formed this value chain. Genuine jerseys, souvenirs, player cards or membership programs are still very limited. The effect on social networks largely stops at views and interactions, not yet converted into value for the club.
This also reduces the attractiveness to businesses. Sponsors not only need logos to appear on jerseys but also want players to participate in communication campaigns, community activities and brand promotion.
Signal from Hanoi Tasco Auto
Currently, Hanoi Tasco Auto is one of the teams showing a new approach. After having a new sponsor accompanying Hanoi women's volleyball, the goal of cooperation is not only to invest in expertise but also to develop communication and increase connection with fans.
The team owns many prominent faces of Vietnamese women's volleyball such as Vi Thi Nhu Quynh, Le Thanh Thuy, Nguyen Khanh Dang and young talents Bui Thi Anh Thao and Le Thuy Linh.
Instead of just introducing the team, the club began to promote the image of each individual. Players began to appear at business events, participate in experiential activities and meet the public.
In April 2026, the Hanoi women's team also organized an event for fans to interact directly with the athletes. In addition, they also established an official fan club to gather fans instead of letting cheering activities take place spontaneously.
Good performance at the 2026 national championship with a 7-match winning streak in the early stages, helps Hanoi Tasco Auto create more attraction. However, to build a long-term brand, the team still needs to develop more backstage content, activities for fans and commercial products.
However, the way businesses accompany each other in terms of expertise, communication and community shows that volleyball sponsorship can go beyond the story of naming a team.
Need to give fans a chance to connect
To better exploit the value of players, clubs do not necessarily have to start with expensive campaigns.
Simple activities such as post-match autographs, behind-the-scenes videos, training diaries or introductions to each player can help viewers understand and be more attached to the team. More importantly, these activities need to be maintained regularly, instead of just appearing when the team wins.
Vietnamese volleyball is having a generation of athletes with enough expertise and appeal to become representative faces. What is missing is the way to bring them closer to the public, create conditions for fans to interact and turn love into value for the club as well as the tournament.
At that time, the commercial potential of Vietnamese volleyball will be truly exploited effectively.
