Lessons from the 2026 World Cup
This is an issue raised by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Danh Hoang Viet - Director of the Vietnam Department of Physical Education and Sports - at the workshop "Improving the capacity to manage and organize sports events" held on July 24 in Hanoi.
Mr. Viet believes that the Department of Sports, Federations, Associations and localities need to innovate the way tournaments are organized, instead of traditional methods that have lasted for many years.
Taking the 2026 World Cup as an example, he assessed that the US organizes and promotes its image effectively, thereby enhancing the value of the tournament. Vietnamese sports need to learn, innovate and create breakthroughs in organizational work.
Indeed, the World Cup 2026 just concluded is a typical example of success in organization and trade, especially in the host country of the United States.
Mr. Quoc Khanh - CEO of Thai Son Nam Club HCMC - said that after watching the World Cup in the US, he was impressed with the way he built the audience experience throughout before, during and after the match.
According to him, transportation, security, commerce, media and entertainment are all organized synchronously, aiming to make spectators want to return to the stadium. These are Vietnamese sports experiences that can be selected and gradually applied to the organization and management of professional football.
Right at the World Cup final, the organizers turned the half-time break into a performance program with the participation of football legend Ronaldo "Fat", Ronaldinho along with Madonna, Shakira, Justin Bieber, BTS. The US press commented that the organizers turned the breaks into a vibrant pop concert, somewhat chaotic but emotional.
Some outfits of 7 BTS members at the World Cup semi-final performance will be auctioned online from July 24-29. Each item has a starting price of 100USD.
All proceeds will be transferred to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, supporting children in disadvantaged areas to access education and sports activities.
With success in organization, the World Cup achieved a record revenue of more than 15 billion USD, far exceeding the initial forecast of 11 billion USD.
Great opportunity is coming
The highest level of an international sports event that Vietnam has ever hosted is only the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in 2003 and 2022. The Vietnam Olympic Committee also planned to host the Asian Games (ASIAD), but due to many factors, the plan has not been accepted.
In fact, the SEA Games hosted by Vietnam are quite successful in terms of expertise, causing a stir but have not become events that bring a correspondingly large revenue.
The foreign cultural strategy to 2030, vision to 2045, which has just been approved by the Government, also sets a goal that from now to 2045, Vietnam will host a global event in the field of culture and sports.
According to the assessment of the Vietnam Sports Administration, sports are no longer just a field of high-performance competition but are becoming an economic sector capable of creating a lot of added value. Each international event has led to the development of accommodation, transportation, commerce, media, advertising, event organization and tourism. At the same time, the fact that tournaments are propagated and broadcast on media platforms and digital platforms also contributes to promoting the image of the country, people and culture of Vietnam to a wide range of international audiences.
Opportunities are approaching as many sports facilities are being invested in construction. The Olympic Sports Urban Area has been started in Hanoi, with the highlight of the project being Hung Vuong Stadium - a national-level project deployed on an area of 73.3ha, with a capacity of up to 135,000 seats, designed to meet FIFA standards, with the largest automatic opening and closing roof in the world. In Ho Chi Minh City, the Rach Chiec National Sports Complex complex is also being deployed, including a roofed central stadium with a capacity of 70,000 seats, equipped with air conditioning systems and modern operating technology, capable of organizing top-notch sports events in parallel with large-scale entertainment and music festival programs.
Turning a sports tournament into a concert is a solution to utilize resources, in line with global trends.
