In mid-December, the Hanoi Police Club had a friendly match with the Czech team Slavia Prague. At the end of the month, a Korean club, Gimcheon Sangmu, also came to Vietnam - specifically Phan Thiet, to train in preparation for the new season. In early January, it was FC Seoul's turn to come to Vietnam. In the squad of Slavia Prague that lost to Hanoi Police, there was Ivan Schranz - the joint top scorer at EURO 2024, while Jesse Lingard - a former Manchester United player, is currently in the ranks of FC Seoul, the team that will play a closed friendly match with The Cong Viettel.
That is one of the benefits, for each domestic club in particular and for Vietnamese football in general. However, this will need to be further promoted in the coming time. A notable statistic, also related to Korean clubs preparing for the 2025 season, is that up to 18 teams in K-League 1 and K-League 2 have chosen Thailand as their training destination, including Jeonbuk Hyundai - the former team of coach Kim Sang-sik, or Seoul E-Land - the team that Van Toan recently played for.
Not to mention the big football countries, with countries like Thailand, Vietnam and in the Southeast Asian region, it is impossible not to see the benefits when foreign clubs choose as a destination. It is not without reason that a large number of Korean football teams come to Thailand during this period. Or many years ago, big football teams in Europe also chose the land of the Golden Temple as a training location in the summer.
Talking about the infrastructure of Thai football, obviously, they are in better conditions than most Vietnamese clubs to have such attraction. Therefore, Vietnamese football also needs to have a shift in thinking, when "seeing" the benefits it brings. If domestic clubs are not strong enough to play friendly matches with big teams, Vietnam can also be the place to host small tournaments of European clubs. And if they can play with teams from the top football countries in the continent, of course it is good for domestic clubs.
Economic benefits, reputation, and promotion are also natural factors. Boldly developing and organizing tournaments and major events is what Vietnamese football and sports should do, once entering the era of reaching new heights.
