Joining the national team is no longer mass.
When building the new bonus level, as well as the new policy regime for coaches and athletes, the professional department of the Vietnam Department of Sports and Physical Training had to carefully review and evaluate in detail to protect the viewpoint of why advise and propose new levels.
The 3 bonus levels for Olympic, Youth Olympic and ASIAD achievements are completely different from before, when Decree 349/2025/ND-CP on policies for sports team members participating in training and competition was issued.
According to new regulations, athletes who win Olympic Gold Medals will be rewarded with 3.5 billion VND in State bonuses, while each Youth Olympic Gold Medal will have a bonus of 400 million VND and each ASIAD Gold Medal will be rewarded with 280 million VND.
The viewpoint of those who built the new proposed level is that the regime in Decree 152/2018/ND-CP is still egalitarian, not clearly distinguishing the qualifications and achievements of coaches and athletes.
The regimes for outstanding and key athletes need to be expressed in specific numbers, helping them focus more on preparing for ASIAD and Olympics. With the new bonus level, the selection of coaches and athletes for the national team will be reviewed more carefully.
Data provided by the Vietnam Department of Physical Education and Sports shows that the sports sector has trained 2,044 athletes and 374 coaches (including 886 young athletes, 174 coaches) at national sports teams and national youth sports teams. This is not a small number.
Sports expert Nguyen Hong Minh (former Director of the High-Performance Sports Department, Vietnam General Department of Sports) always maintains the view that Vietnamese sports must focus investment on key coaches and athletes instead of scattered investment.
Mr. Nguyen Hong Minh believes that: "Vietnamese sports is starting to aim for professional development in the top arenas of ASIAD and Olympics, so key people must be specialized and the selection of players for national teams should not be as widespread as before.
Responsibility of high-status people
When shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh won the Olympic Gold Medal in 2016, the state's prescribed bonus at that time was only 180 million VND/Olympic Gold Medal.
From here, Decree 152/2018/ND-CP dated November 7, 2018 stipulating a number of regimes for coaches and athletes during training and competition has been developed. The bonus level of 1 Olympic Medal according to the provisions of Decree 152/2018/ND-CP is 350 million VND.
After 8 years, Decree 349/2025/ND-CP just issued on December 30, 2025 has a bonus of 1 Olympic Gold Medal of 3.5 billion VND. Decree 349/2025/ND-CP also stipulates the level of support for athletes who pass the Olympic qualifying round and corresponding levels when winning Olympic medal achievements in a cycle (4 years). The highest level of support is 40 million VND/person/month if the athlete wins an Olympic Gold Medal.
In an exchange with Vietnamese athletics athletes before Decree 349/2025/ND-CP was promulgated, Director of the Vietnam Department of Physical Education and Sports Nguyen Danh Hoang Viet once expressed that changes in regimes and policies will help the spirit of coaches and athletes be trusted in sports, have good incomes, and help professional development.
However, in return, players who have achieved results and have a commensurate regime must maintain their expertise, avoid falling into a state of early satisfaction to only feel secure in enjoying support and have no motivation to develop achievements.
This year, Vietnamese sports continues to focus on the task of ASIAD 20 in Japan (September 2026). The athletes who win medals in this arena will be the ones who begin to receive high support from their achievements.
Surely, they must have the highest dedication to their profession and show it with competition results and medals to enjoy the best treatment for themselves.
