More difficult to find
According to the competition schedule announced by the Vietnam Volleyball Federation, the second phase of the 2024 National Volleyball Championship (VDQG) for women will take place from November 7 to November 17 in Lao Cai.
In phase 1, 7 women's teams (except Hanoi and Geleximco Thai Binh) have added foreign players to strengthen their squad, with the majority of them coming from Thailand. However, finding foreign players for phase 2 is becoming much more difficult than phase 1.
The time for hiring foreign players for teams in the national championship only lasts about 2-3 weeks, because the two competition stages are arranged separately. This makes foreign players hesitant to return to Vietnam to compete.
The two countries that usually contribute the most foreign players to the Vietnamese national championship are Thailand and China. It is known that some teams have expressed interest in Thai foreign players, but the group of players from the Thai women's volleyball team will have difficulty coming to Vietnam this time because most of them have signed contracts to play with teams in Korea and Japan.
Meanwhile, the Chinese women's national volleyball championship is scheduled to coincide with the second phase of the national volleyball championship in Vietnam (November 2024), so famous players in this country will not be able to come to Vietnam.
The two Chinese foreign players who participated in phase 1, Cai Xiaoqing of Thanh Hoa and Chen Peiyan of VTV Binh Dien Long An, will almost certainly not return in phase 2.
The quality of the tournament is improved
Despite the difficulties, up to this point, some information about the foreign players competing in phase 2 is gradually being revealed.
After the 2024 Asian Club Championship, LPB Ninh Binh decided to continue hiring foreign player Warisara (Thailand) for the second phase of the 2024 National Championship and the 2024 Women's World Club Championship taking place in China this coming December.
According to many rumors, the Thanh Hoa women's team may be served by Chinese foreign player Liu Yanhan in the near future. Liu Yanhan was born in 1993, is 1m88 tall, and was with the Chinese women's volleyball team to win the FIVB World Cup twice in 2015 and 2019, won 2 gold medals at the Asian Championship in 2014 and 2018, and 1 silver medal at the 2014 ASIAD.
Star Jana Kulan (Azerbaijani of Slovak origin) - who holds the scoring record in Japan's No. 1 volleyball tournament - can also play for a Vietnamese team in the second phase.
Mr. Le Tri Truong, General Secretary of the Vietnam Volleyball Federation, once affirmed that having foreign players participating in the national championship helps increase the attraction of the tournament. Fans also want to see more foreign players.
Besides, hiring foreign players for the national championship is completely suitable and necessary for the direction of bringing Vietnamese volleyball to become professional without affecting the opportunities of young faces.
Before the second phase, VTV Binh Dien Long Anh had 10 days of training in Japan, while LPB Ninh Binh will also go to Thailand to train in October. With these training programs, the teams will also have the opportunity to find suitable foreign players who can sign contracts to invite them to play in Vietnam.
