Cost pressure
Although there has been no official announcement, Khanh Hoa Salanganes Nest State-owned One Member Co., Ltd. (the sponsor of the Sanest Khanh Hoa men's volleyball team) has considered returning the team to the Khanh Hoa Provincial Technical Training Center.
Many options have been proposed, the time when the sponsor will withdraw is probably at the end of this year. However, at this time, the current national champion of Vietnamese men's volleyball is competing in the second stage of the 2024 National Volleyball Championship (in Ba Ria - Vung Tau) with the most determined spirit to top the rankings.
The withdrawal plan of Khanh Hoa Salanganes Nest State Company Limited is also understandable. In addition to the Sanest Khanh Hoa men's volleyball team, Khanh Hoa's beach volleyball and futsal teams are also facing similar difficulties. Most recently, the Sanvinest Khanh Hoa futsal team is considering whether to survive or not in case there is no more sponsor.
Football and volleyball in Vietnam have witnessed many teams having to disband due to the difficult situation of sponsors. In volleyball, the most recent case of disbandment was the Duc Long Gia Lai men's team (early 2016). Although when it was established and operated for 7 years (invested by businessman Bui Phap), each team has more or less created a reputation for expertise (entering the final of the national championship for 3 consecutive years (2012, 2013, 2014) and winning the national championship in 2013).
In football, statistics show that 8 teams that once appeared in professional football fields have been dissolved due to lack of operating funds. Typically, the Than Quang Ninh football team stopped operating in 2021 for many reasons, including funding issues. Recently, this team has investment resources so it was re-established under the name Quang Ninh FC to compete in the Third Division of Vietnam.
Currently, to maintain a volleyball team competing in the national championship, the manager's resources cannot be less than 5-6 billion VND/year. For a football team in the V.League, the revealed figure is 10 to 12 times that.
Sports and economics
In fact, the teams competing in the V.League must comply with the Professional Regulations issued by the Vietnam Football Federation at the same time, and the teams all belong to the football joint stock company named after that team. With volleyball, most of the 18 teams (nine men's, nine women's) in the national volleyball championship are still managed by local units and sectors. Many teams exist from allocated funds. Although volleyball has a high social value and attracts many people's attention, calling for social resources to accompany it is not easy.
Regarding this, the General Secretary of the Vietnam Volleyball Federation - Mr. Le Tri Truong - discussed that finding sponsors to participate in the activities of the Vietnam Volleyball Federation or for the national volleyball teams in the long term is very difficult. It all comes from the needs of the partners who want to sponsor or not or depends on the financial resources of that unit.
At the Vietnam Sports Economic Forum in 2024, Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation - Mr. Tran Anh Tu affirmed that the V.League in Vietnam has sold television rights for 2 million USD/season (about 50 billion VND/season). This is a high number, from which the football teams also benefit.
