Each team is still allowed to only use a maximum of 4 foreign players on the field at the same time, along with one reserve foreign player, even though there was a previous proposal to expand to 4 foreign players competing at the same time.
On July 9, a group of 7 clubs including Nam Dinh, Hanoi FC, Hanoi Police, The Cong Viettel, Hai Phong, Hong Linh Ha Tinh and Da Nang proposed to use all 4 foreign players at all times of the competition. After that, 3 other teams, Thanh Hoa, Song Lam Nghe An and Ninh Binh, also made similar proposals. However, after only a few days, at least 3 of these teams have withdrawn their opinions.
Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF) has compiled the opinions of the teams and submitted them to VFF. According to the final decision criteria of the VFF Executive Committee, term 9, the current regulations are kept unchanged to ensure financial balance and fairness between football teams.
In addition, the two teams of Nam Dinh Steel Blue and Hanoi Police are still allowed to register a maximum of 7 foreign players due to participating in continental tournaments such as the AFC Champions League Two and the Southeast Asian Club Championship, but the number of foreign players playing in each match does not exceed 4.
The 2025-2026 season also saw a change in the number of direct relegation spots, from 1.5 to 2, while increasing the number of VAR vehicles to 5. The three clubs also changed their names, in which Binh Duong became Becamex HCMC, HCMC became Police HCMC, and Phu Dong Ninh Binh became Ninh Binh FC.
The tournament is expected to open from August 15 with 26 rounds, 182 matches and 5 breaks for international events such as FIFA days, SEA Games 33 and the 2026 U23 Asian Cup finals.
