2026 is an important milestone in the journey to elevate Vietnamese sports when a series of major tournaments take place in succession. Teams must enter a cyclical operating cycle, instead of preparing individually for each tournament.
In that overall picture, football continues to play a key role, in parallel with the goal of maintaining and expanding depth in Olympic sports.
Vietnamese football enters 2026 with a dense schedule at many levels from region to continent. The noteworthy point is that for the first time, up to 7 national teams and youth teams have won the right to participate in Asian finals in the same year.
In which, U23 Vietnam just completed its task at the 2026 AFC U23 Championship with a bronze medal. This impressive achievement is a motivation for the next teams to prepare mentally and professionally.
At the men's national team level, ASEAN Cup 2026 is a key goal. With the position of defending champion, coach Kim Sang-sik and his team are under pressure to protect achievements in the context that many regional opponents are increasing their strength with naturalization policies.
Supplementing suitable personnel, combining domestic players and new resources is considered a solution to maintain competitiveness. Along with that, the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers are pivotal, where each match can directly determine the opportunity to advance.
Meanwhile, U21 Vietnam (a generation of players born in 2005 and later) is expected to develop their abilities and accumulate experience when participating in ASIAD 20 in Japan.
Women's football continues to aim for a further goal with the 2026 Asian Cup finals, conquering a ticket to the 2027 World Cup.
Young teams such as U17 men's, U17 women's and U20 women's gather experience, aiming for bigger playgrounds at the world level.
Besides football, Vietnamese sports in 2026 participate in a series of major Games such as ASIAD 20 in Japan, Youth Olympics, Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, Asian Beach Games and the 10th National Sports Games.
ASIAD continues to be a key arena. Sports capable of competing for medals such as shooting, taekwondo, canoeing, rowing, sepak takraw, karate, women's volleyball and relay athletics are focused on key investments.
At the same time, many young athletes in swimming, badminton or athletics are given conditions to compete and rub shoulders, preparing for the next Olympic cycle.
2026 will mark a clear shift in the development strategy of Vietnamese sports with the development of a long-term roadmap. Identifying the right focus, allocating resources reasonably and ensuring inheritance between generations will determine the reach of Vietnamese sports in the new period.
