Want to have a suitable regime
In the report on the implementation of tasks in 2025, Head of High Performance Sports Department 1 (Department of Physical Education and Sports) - Mr. Hoang Quoc Vinh once proposed one of the important solutions for high performance sports to achieve good results in the following years: the regime and policies for coaches and athletes must be appropriate.
Mr. Vinh shared: “At the 2024 summary meeting of the Culture, Sports and Tourism sector, the Prime Minister said: The lifespan of an athlete is very short, so we must have appropriate policies to treat and attract talent... Thereby, in 2025, the High Performance Sports Department 1 (Department of Physical Education and Sports) will coordinate with units to advise the leaders of the Department of Physical Education and Sports to submit amendments to Decree 152 on food and salary for athletes, continue to seek additional financial resources to increase direct bonuses for coaches, athletes, and experts who achieve targets. That is also a positive motivation for athletes to strive in training...”.
Taking note of the reality at the Conference summarizing the work in 2024 and deploying tasks in 2025 (December 2024), many opinions of experts focused on discussing the important content that the regime and policies for coaches and athletes need to be considered and revised. If the regime is suitable, professionals will have more motivation to contribute to their profession.
Decree 152/2018/ND-CP stipulates a number of regimes for coaches and athletes during training and competition periods, issued and implemented from November 2018. In particular, the Decree stipulates very specifically about salaries (wages), insurance regimes and bonuses when coaches and athletes achieve high achievements in international tournaments.
Currently, a national team athlete receives a salary of 270,000 VND/day (calculated based on actual training days). Young athletes receive a salary of 215,000 VND/person/day, while athletes from industry, provincial, and centrally-run city teams receive 180,000 VND/person/day.
The role of Sports Federations and Associations
The latest information exchanged is that the Vietnam Rowing Federation has accepted athlete Nguyen Thi Huong (canoeing). Nguyen Thi Huong has submitted a request to leave Vinh Phuc and is currently waiting for the decision of the management agency. Currently, the Vietnam Rowing Federation ensures the best policies for this rower.
The case of Nguyen Thi Huong is typical because she has achievements, she has participated in the 2024 Paris Olympics (France). Certainly, this is only a temporary solution. Currently, we have 43 Federations and Associations of sports (including the Vietnam Olympic Committee, the Vietnam Paralympic Committee). Not many Federations and Associations of sports have enough resources to pay for a large number of athletes.
Athletes must still be managed directly by the managing unit (province, city, industry) and paid for the regimes in order to stabilize their professional training. When athletes become national players and are allowed to concentrate on their professional training, the sports industry is responsible for paying the regime according to regulations (currently according to Decree 152) and some Federations and Associations of sports have additional support for coaches and athletes of the national team in their sport.
