Nguyen Quang Hai most popular football face in TV commercials

By Nguyen Quy October 24, 2019 | 04:41 pm PT

Nguyen Quang Hai reacts after scoring Vietnam's only goal against Malaysia at a World Cup qualification match, October 10, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Lam Thoa.

Star midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai is the most liked football personality in TV commercials, a recent survey has found.

37 percent of Vietnamese respondents showed their interest in seeing Hai on TV commercials, followed by goalkeepers Bui Tien Dung (8 percent) and Dang Van Lam (5 percent), according to survey results released Wednesday by HCMC-based market research firm Q&Me.

The report said 4 percent of Vietnamese fans were interested in watching midfielder Luong Xuan Truong on TV adverts while 3 percent said they would like to see striker Nguyen Cong Phuong.

Only 1 percent of surveyed fans expressed interest in seeing other players like Doan Van Hau, Nguyen Anh Duc, Nguyen Tuan Anh, Ha Duc Trinh or Do Duy Manh on TV ads.

The survey, conducted this month, interviewed 475 respondents aged between 18 and 40 in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to explore the use of Vietnamese football players for TV commercials.

Since the national football team made history at Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship in China in January last year where they made it to the final of a continental championship for the first time, Vietnamese football players have acquired larger public profiles that advertisers have sought to exploit.

70 percent of Vietnamese fans found the use of football talents in TV ads as a good way to support the national team, while 51 percent thought it was a good way to add Vietnamese flavor to TV commercials.

Hai, 22, a key player of Hanoi FC and Vietnam's national team, rose to stardom with impressive performances that helped boost Vietnam’s football profile, starting with winning the silver medal at the AFC U23 Championship 2018.

He was also with the team that finished fourth at the Asian Games and with the national team as they won the 2018 AFF Cup and made it to the quarterfinals of Asian Cup 2019. He was named best player at the AFF Cup and also voted as one that scored the best goal at Asian Cup.

Hai was also the first Vietnamese player to be named among the 500 most important players on the globe by World Soccer, an English football magazine.