Vietnamese footballer auctions jersey for Covid-19 relief

According to his Facebook post Sunday, Toan is auctioning his number 9 jersey, which he wore for the World Cup 2022 qualifiers, to support Covid-19 relief efforts in Hai Duong, his hometown.

The northern province is treating 11 Covid-19 infections recorded since last week, becoming the second hotspots in the country at the present, after Da Nang.

Doctors have yet to identify the source of the Hai Duong outbreak. The province's capital, also named Hai Duong, was locked down and began a 15-day social distancing campaign on Friday.

The jersey was also signed by South Korean head coach Park Hang-seo.

Nguyen Van Toan's jersey signed by all members of the men's national football team. Photo courtesy of Nguyen Van Toan.

The auction will wrap up this Sunday, with bidding having peaked at VND300 million (over $13,000) in two days.

Toan, 24, had donated VND151 million (over $6,500) toward Covid-19 relief in March and later joined other players to donate an additional VND300 million (over $13,000) toward prevention efforts in Da Nang.

Vietnam played the Asian qualifiers for 2022 World Cup between September and November last year. They were supposed to play remaining three qualifiers against Malaysia, Indonesia and UAE in October and November this year, but the games have been postponed to next year over the pandemic concerns.

Vietnam’s current Covid-19 count stands at 964, including 492 active cases. Twenty four patients have died.