On the afternoon of August 26, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom were present in Hanoi, starting a visit to Vietnam and attending the second leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 final between Vietnam and Thailand.
At the airport, Chairman of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) Tran Quoc Tuan, along with VFF Secretary General Nguyen Van Phu and representatives of the Secretariat, functional departments of VFF, welcomed FIFA President Gianni Infantino and FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom.
Chairman Tran Quoc Tuan, representing the Standing Committee of the VFF Executive Committee, presented flowers and welcomed the head of FIFA to Vietnam. Mr. Gianni Infantino also sent greetings to VFF Chairman Tran Quoc Tuan and exchanged with VFF Secretary General Nguyen Van Phu about some activities related to Vietnamese football.
During this visit, FIFA President Gianni Infantino will attend some activities in Hanoi before going to My Dinh National Stadium to watch the second leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 final between Vietnam and Thailand.
This is the second time Mr. Gianni Infantino has come to Vietnam as FIFA President. The first time he came to Vietnam was in February 2018 to visit and work with functional agencies and the Vietnam Youth Football Training Center.
The FIFA President has also directly attended major football events in Southeast Asia many times. In December 2021, he was present in Singapore to attend the AFF Cup opening ceremony. In January 2023, he attended the second leg final of the 2022 AFF Cup between Thailand and Vietnam at Thammasat Stadium, and also attended the post-match medal awarding ceremony.
The presence of FIFA President Gianni Infantino and FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom in Hanoi shows FIFA's interest in Southeast Asian football. This is also an opportunity for Vietnamese football to introduce developments in youth training, building facilities, developing teams and organizing international football events.
With the Vietnamese team, the appearance of the head of FIFA further highlights the decisive match for the ASEAN Cup 2026 championship. In the first leg final at Rajamangala Stadium, coach Kim Sang-sik's team won 2-0 against Thailand thanks to goals from Nguyen Hai Long and Nguyen Quang Hai.
This result helps the Vietnamese team take an advantage before the second leg at home. The second leg of the ASEAN Cup 2026 final between the Vietnamese and Thai teams takes place at 8:00 PM on August 26th at My Dinh National Stadium.
