Quality foreign players flock to V-League: Gains and losses for domestic players

V-League… upgraded again

Although foreign players are still a very important group of players in the V-League, it can be seen that in recent seasons, the highest tournament in Vietnam's professional football system does not have many outstanding faces.

The best players are mostly old faces from Rafaelson (before naturalization), Hendrio, Alan, Atur, Lucas, Pedro… However, signs show that the 2025/26 season will be different.

Besides the group of old foreign players, V-League is witnessing many 'blockbuster' contracts, as well as spreading out quite widely instead of falling into a group of potential clubs such as Nam Dinh , CAHN, Hanoi FC or Viettel.

We can mention Njabulo Blom (Nam Dinh), Matheus Felipe (HCMC CA), Yevgeniy Serdyuk (Ha Tinh), Stefan Mauk (HN CA),... making fans expect the new season to be more vibrant and competitive than before.

Opportunities and challenges for domestic players

The influx of high-quality foreign players brings clear impacts, opportunities and challenges to domestic players and the development of Vietnamese football.

On the positive side, this is a golden opportunity for Vietnamese players to learn and develop while competing and training with highly skilled foreign players.

Competition for positions in the squad will also become more fierce, forcing each player to constantly strive and try to assert themselves. In addition, owning good foreign players also helps domestic coaches gain more experience in managing and developing the squad.

However, the downside of the problem is not small. The influx of foreign players can reduce the chances of young Vietnamese players playing, when the pressure of performance, as well as spending millions of dollars to recruit, clubs of course give absolute priority to foreign players.

However, with the V-Leaguer being upgraded by foreign players and overseas Vietnamese players, it is also worth celebrating. Hopefully, with the million-dollar contracts, the V-League will become more vibrant and thereby help the Vietnamese team to improve.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/ngoai-binh-chat-luong-do-bo-v-league-duoc-va-mat-voi-cau-thu-noi-2430645.html