Vietnam failed to defend its title in the East Asian Football Championship, a result that led to the departure of the assistants of Korean head coach Park Hang-su. On January 1, Vietnam Football Association (VFA) President Le Hong Hai officially announced his departure from the post due to the impact of this "defeat". With the departure of Le Hong Hai, the next step of the Vietnam Football Federation will be taken over by Tran Quoc Chun, Executive Vice President and Chairman of the AFC Match Committee. This change within the Vietnamese team could have a major impact on the team's upcoming Round of 12 matches. For China, this might be a good opportunity to beat Vietnam on the road.
Le Hong Hai (left photo)
According to Vietnamese media reports, Le Hong Hai resigned from the presidency mainly due to his "busy day-to-day political affairs", which left him with no time to attend to Vietnamese soccer affairs.
Le Hong Hai was elected as the new President with high votes at the 7th Congress of the Vietnam Football Association (VFA) in 2018. Since he assumed the presidency, Vietnam's soccer has made remarkable progress and achieved numerous successes in Asian football. These include winning the 2018 Southeast Asian Football Championship, reaching the last eight of the 2019 Asian Cup in the UAE, qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar for the first time in Asia to reach the final stage of the 12-team tournament, and gold medals for both men's and women's football at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
However, after losing the defense of his title in this year's Southeast Asian Football Championship, Lai Hong Hai had the idea of resigning from his post after the semifinal defeat against Thailand.
According to the regulations of the Vietnam Football Association (VFA), current Executive Vice President Tran Quoc Tuan will temporarily serve as the association's acting president. The Vietnam Football Association (VFA) plans to hold its annual general assembly on January 9, when the decision will be officially announced.
Tran Quoc Tuan will serve as acting chairman until the end of 2022 as Le Hong Hai's original term ends in 2022. The Vietnam Football Association (VFA) will hold its 8th General Assembly in January the following year and elect a new president of the association. Notably, Tran Quoc Chun currently serves as a member of the AFC Executive Committee and chairman of the AFC Match Committee, and has considerable influence in the AFC.
