From February 15, 2026, according to Decree No. 349/2025/ND-CP, the training and competition salaries of national team athletes will be increased to 550,000 VND/person/day, young national team athletes to 430,000 VND/day; the corresponding nutrition regime will increase to 400,000 VND/day and may reach 600,000-800,000 VND/day for key teams preparing for SEA Games, ASIAD, and Olympics.
A long-term reward and allowance system based on international achievements is also established, in which the Olympic gold medal can receive a total reward of 3.5 billion VND and support of 40 million VND per month in a 4-year cycle.
Salary increases, bonuses and regimes will directly affect the living conditions of athletes during the concentrated period lasting months, even years.
Higher wages help them cover basic personal expenses even during their national duties, reducing dependence on external support or non-professional income.
The sharp increase in nutrition creates changes in physical fitness and recovery. With a level of 400,000 VND/day for the national team and a maximum of 800,000 VND/day for groups with the ability to compete for major medals, the diet can meet the requirements for energy and supplementary food according to the scientific curriculum.
This is quite important for key sports towards ASIAD such as shooting, taekwondo, karate, archery, badminton, canoeing, rowing, karate, athletics, football or volleyball...
An athlete once shared with Lao Dong that the increase in wages and nutrition helps her to be more stable during the training period, and can focus on expertise instead of worrying about living expenses. However, long-term income still depends on maintaining achievements and being called up to the national team regularly.
In 2026, Vietnamese sports will participate in a series of major events, especially ASIAD 20 is identified as the focus. Increasing benefits helps the sports industry focus resources on sports with medal-scoring potential such as shooting, taekwondo, canoeing, rowing, karate... At the same time, young athletes in swimming, badminton, and athletics are given conditions for long-term practice to prepare for the next Olympic cycle.
Increasing salaries, increasing nutrition and establishing bonus levels according to international standards creates a new level of training conditions. When costs are guaranteed by mechanisms and policies, the professional investment process can focus on lesson plans, sports science and scoring competition.
Competition results are still the decisive factor for higher opportunities and income for athletes, but the starting point has been raised evenly, in line with the goal of building a long-term roadmap and enhancing the position of Vietnamese sports.
