Vietnamese football enthusiasts break V. League attendance record

By Dang Khoa July 15, 2020 | 01:31 am PT

Spectators pack Ha Tinh Stadium, Ha Tinh Province, central Vietnam during the V. League 1 match between Hong Linh Ha Tinh and Hanoi FC on June 12, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Hung.

The ninth round of the topflight football contest V. League 1 this season has set a new record attendance of 73,000.

While many football tournaments around the world were postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak, increasingly popular V-League 1 has attracted the biggest crowds so far this season.

According to Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), a total 73,000 spectators attended last week's ninth round, an average 10,429 fans per clash, surpassing the previous sixth round record of 66,000 attendees, an average 9,429 spectators a game.

The ninth round occured last weekend, with each round featuring seven games.

The match boasting the highest number of fans occurred between Duoc Nam Ha Nam Dinh and Quang Nam on Sunday with 18,000 people, followed by the Hanoi FC and SHB Da Nang match (15,000 fans) on the same day and Hoang Anh Gia Lai and Becamex Binh Duong match (14,000 fans) on Saturday.

A total 400,000+ spectators attended the first nine rounds of V. League 1 this season, up 33.3 percent year-on-year.

Sai Gon FC is currently topping the league rankings on 19 points, followed by Ho Chi Minh City FC (17 points) and Viettel FC (15 points). Hanoi FC, the champions of 2019 V. League 1, lies in eighth place with 12 points. On seven points, Quang Nam FC bottoms the chart at 14th spot.