The promulgation of Decree 349/2025/ND-CP is a significant adjustment in the preferential treatment policy for coaches and high-performance athletes.
Compared to previous regulations, the new decree not only increases the salary level according to training and competition days but also expands to nutrition and long-term post-achievement allowances.
According to the new framework, the training and competition salary of athletes has increased significantly compared to before, especially at the national team level and the national youth team.
On average, a national team athlete focuses on about 250-300 days per year (except for specific sports such as football, basketball...), income from wages can reach over 150 million VND/year, not including accompanying nutrition.
For sports with long training schedules (domestic and foreign) such as athletics, rowing, canoeing or swimming, increasing daily wages helps athletes significantly reduce spending pressure during the training period.
The structural change of Decree 349 lies in the monthly allowance policy extending according to the congress cycle. For the first time, athletes who achieve high results at the Olympics, ASIAD, Paralympic Games or meet Olympic standards are entitled to stable allowances for 4 consecutive years. This approach shifts focus from "one-time bonuses" to "ensuring cyclical income".
For the group of top athletes, especially in Olympic sports, this policy creates a clearer financial foundation. In cases such as karate, shooting, weightlifting or rowing (sports that are difficult to attract personal sponsorship), monthly allowances help athletes maintain long-term training without having to worry about making a living.
An athlete who wins an ASIAD gold medal can imagine the income problem. First of all, this athlete is rewarded 280 million VND for achievements, and is eligible for a monthly allowance of 20 million VND for 4 years, equivalent to 960 million VND for the entire tournament cycle.
In addition, if they are athletes of the national team gathering about 250-300 days/year, the salary for training and competition reaches about 140-165 million VND/year; plus a nutrition regime of 400,000 VND/day (which may increase to 600,000-800,000 VND/day in the ASIAD preparation period), the total resource converted each year may exceed 250-300 million VND.
A karate athlete shared with Lao Dong: "Adjusting wages, nutrition and allowances helps me to be more stable during the training period, and can focus on expertise instead of having to worry too much about living expenses.
However, to maintain long-term income, I still need to continue to strive to be regularly called up to the national team and maintain achievements in major tournaments. The new policy creates conditions, but opportunities are still closely linked to the competition results and the striving process of each athlete.
However, it should be recognized that training and competition salaries only arise when athletes are called up. In fact, not every athlete gathers with the national team all year round. At the provincial, sectoral or youth team level, training time is intermittent, so income also depends on each time.
For this group of athletes, the increased payment levels for training and competition days are the basis for maintaining stable training, while opening up opportunities to access higher regimes when called up to the youth team or national team.
This approach encourages athletes to invest long-term in expertise, considering striving to be selected and achieving high achievements as a clear career development direction.
Decree 349 lays the foundation for a system of inherited and developed policies. This is the basis for athletes at all levels to feel secure in pursuing high-performance sports, and at the same time create motivation for the local level to continue to play the role of a human resource source for national teams in the coming period.
