Rare Thai foreign players
Phase 1 of the 2025 National Volleyball Championship will start from March 22 at Dong Anh District Gymnasium, Hanoi. Currently, all 8 women's clubs have completed the recruitment of foreign players to prepare for the upcoming phase. There are 9 female foreign players coming to Vietnam to compete, in which the defending runner-up Hoa Chat Duc Giang will have 2 foreign players in the squad.
Foreign players who will compete in Dong Anh at the end of March include Natalia Lijewska (Poland - VTV Binh Dien Long An team), Miroslava Paskova ( bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul bul 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With Duc Giang Chemicals, in addition to setter Tichaya Boonlert (Thailand), Mr. Huyen's team will reunite with the best attacking athlete of the 2024 season, Sharon Chepchumba (Kenya).
Thus, the first phase of the 2025 National Volleyball Championship will be without Thai foreign players in the women's teams. Tichaya Boonlert is the only Thai player to play in Vietnam. In previous seasons, Thailand and China were the two volleyball regions with players coming to Vietnam to compete overwhelmingly.
The reason is that most of Thailand's quality players are on the national team list. This year, Thailand is the host of the 33rd SEA Games (taking place in December), so athletes are required to limit their travel abroad to compete.
Speaking to Lao Dong, Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen of LPB Ninh Binh women's team said: "In previous seasons, athletes from Thailand often accounted for the majority of the foreign player list. They are loved for many factors such as good expertise, physique and playing style quite similar to Vietnamese players; sociable, friendly and very professional. The cost of hiring Thai players is not too high.
This year, the national championship is the arrival of European players. I think there will be certain difficulties when the weather, Asian and European cultures are different, foreign players will have to take more time to adapt. But that is not a big deal. Because these players all play a lot, they will know how to keep up with the new team."
Foreign players are a factor attracting audiences
This year's regulations still stipulate that each team can register a maximum of 2 foreign players and only 1 player to play on the field at any time.
At the Hoa Lu - Binh Dien Cup 2025 held in Ninh Binh (ending on March 9), only VTV Binh Dien Long An introduced its foreign player. Because he has just arrived in Vietnam and has not had time to get used to the weather, climate as well as the playing style of the whole team, Natalia has not shown many professional impressions.
However, the Polish hitter's ability to take the first step and support the attack is highly appreciated, so the coaching staff of the Western team hopes that the presence of Natalia Lijewska will help them increase their squad depth, aiming for long-term goals in the first phase of the national championship or the 2025 Asian Women's Club Cup.
Most of the registered foreign players have just competed in the Chinese National Volleyball Championship. As of March 11, they have completed their professional skills at their old teams to join the new club in Vietnam, ready to compete.
"Having many European players compete in Vietnam helps improve the quality of the national championship. From here, I and our athletes will learn professional style (activity, eating, exercising), and foreign players' techniques. Asian or European foreign players are not important, the key is harmony and cohesion with the whole team", opposite Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen shared.
The continued large number of foreign players participating in the national volleyball championship promises to help increase competition among teams, and give young athletes more motivation to strive. When the quality of the tournament is improved, finding funding sources for the tournament as well as clubs can become easier.
