German Football League signs MoU to develop Vietnamese football

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) focuses on three main areas of collaboration: improving technical and sporting expertise in Vietnam, advancing league and club structures, as well as developing the football fan basis and culture in Vietnam. Over the course of the agreement, parties will share knowledge through meetings, training activities and fact-finding trips.

Representatives from the respective organizations, as well as Next Media, the media partner for Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 in Vietnam, met at the DFL’s headquarters in Frankfurt, as part of a trip to Germany. Photo by Next Media

The DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga, organizing body of Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, will work closely with its Vietnamese counterparts to provide support and guidance in a number of areas relating to sporting performance, including player recruitment and elite analysis. In addition, the DFL will also offer its expertise on topics related to league and club management, media rights and product/content creation.

DFL CEO Donata Hopfen said: "For the DFL, internationalization does not just mean the distribution of media rights. Our approach is to maintain strong relationships with leagues and associations around the globe, exchanging know how as well as ideas and working together to better understand what football means to fans in those countries."

Next Media has been a key facilitator in the development of football in Vietnam. The DFL, and its subsidiary Bundesliga International, have already been working closely with Next Media, the Vietnamese Football Federation (VFF) and Vietnam Professional Football League (VPF), to share knowledge and best practice on a wide range of topics, including youth development, professionalization of the league, and marketing strategies.

Tran Quoc Tuan, acting president of VFF, said: "Together with our mutual partner Next Media, the VFF and VPF will be able to gain valuable expertise from the DFL and accelerate the development and professionalization of the domestic game in Vietnam."

"We see a broad range of opportunities to implement the best practices in our football administration, such as youth development and governance, which can help us improve across the entire football ecosystem. The reach includes not only our professional football teams, but also national teams at all ages, as well as Vietnamese national women's football, which has recently qualified for the first time for FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023," he added.

The cooperation aims to accelerate the development and professionalization of Vietnamese football. Photo by Next Media

Tran Anh Tu, chairman of VPF, said: "There are many attributes and qualities that we greatly admire and would like the V-League to emulate; in particular the DFL's sustainable approach and commitment towards youth development, economical stability and rigorous corporate governance provides a strong framework and potential role model for Vietnamese professional football to develop and flourish."

DFL, VFF and VPL, alongside their media partner Next Media, will hold a joint virtual press conference on Friday, March 18, at 8:30 a.m. CET to talk more about the agreement, as well as to launch the first activations specifically mentioned in the MoU.