V-League and the Success Trap: Why Vietnamese Youth Football Is Dying

At the 2026 AFC U23 Asian Cup, when Vietnam's U23 team was eliminated in the quarter-finals against Uzbekistan, I sat in the stands of Thong Nhat Stadium, watching the young players leave the pitch with dejected faces. What haunted me was not the 0-2 scoreline, but a statistical figure: in Vietnam's starting lineup, only 3 players were regularly playing in the V-League. The rest were mostly on the bench, playing in the First Division, or even without a club. I suddenly remembered the 2026 SEA Games final, when Vietnam's U22 team defeated Indonesia in nationwide jubilation. At that time, I wrote: "I didn't sleep that final night—U22 Vietnam taught me that the impossible always has a price." But now, I realize that price is being eroded by those who call themselves the "architects" of Vietnamese football. Vietnamese football has made remarkable strides over the past decade. From being a weak team in the region, we won the 2026 AFF Cup, reached the 2026 Asian Cup quarter-finals, and won SEA Games gold in 2026 and 2026. This success was built on a youth development foundation, with talented generations like Quang Hai, Cong Phuong, and Van Hau. However, this development is now stalling. The main reason is not tactics or coaches, but the domestic league system itself. The V-League, Vietnam's top flight, is increasingly dependent on foreign players and older veterans, leaving young talents without opportunities. According to VPF statistics, in the 2026-2026 season, players under 23 accounted for only 12% of total playing minutes in the V-League. In the Thai League, that figure is 25%; in the J-League, 30%; and in the K-League, 28%. This gap reflects a worrying reality: we win at youth level thanks to individual talent, but lose at professional level due to a lack of development environment. Look at how V-League clubs operate. They typically recruit 3-4 foreign players, mainly strikers and attacking midfielders, to solve the scoring problem. This forces young Vietnamese players, despite their potential, to sit on the bench or be pushed down to the First Division. A typical example: Nguyen Van Toan, a young striker who scored 10 goals in the national U19 championship, but after being promoted to the first team, he only played 200 minutes all season. Why? His club preferred a Brazilian foreign striker. Van Toan is not an isolated case. According to my survey, of the 20 best U23 players from the 2026 National U21 Championship, only 5 played regularly in the V-League the following season. Of the rest, 10 were relegated to the First Division, and 5 had no club. This creates a vicious cycle. Clubs do not trust young players because they lack experience, but young players cannot gain experience without playing. Meanwhile, developed football nations like Japan and South Korea have mandatory rules about the number of young players in squads. The J-League requires each club to have at least 2 U23 players on the registration list, and they are given priority to play. The Thai League has similar rules. The V-League has no such regulation. As a result, clubs focus only on short-term results, ignoring long-term development. Another issue is tactics. Many V-League coaches choose a defensive counter-attacking style, relying on the pace of foreign players. This makes young players, who were trained in possession-based football, unable to adapt. They are forced to play rigid football, losing their creativity. I have watched many U23 Vietnam matches, and I see a clear difference: when playing at youth level, they are confident and coordinated; but when promoted to the first team, they become timid and lack ideas. That is not their fault, but the environment's. Many will argue that the V-League is developing thanks to investment, with wealthy clubs like Hanoi FC, TP.HCM, or Becamex Binh Duong. They will point out that these clubs have spent millions of dollars on foreign players, which improves the league's quality. But I believe that is a success trap. Dependence on foreign players not only weakens the youth development foundation but also creates a generation of Vietnamese players who are "spoon-fed," lacking self-reliance. Look at Thailand: they also once depended on foreign players, but they changed their policy five years ago, and now they have a quality young generation like Chanathip and Supachok. Vietnam is still standing still. Without a fundamental change in youth development policy, Vietnamese football will not be able to compete at the continental level. We can continue to win the AFF Cup, but we will forever be the underdogs at the Asian Cup or World Cup. I bet that in the next 5 years, if the V-League does not introduce mandatory rules for young players, we will see a clear decline compared to Thailand, Indonesia, and even Malaysia. It is time for football administrators to look beyond immediate victories.