According to the arrangement of the Vietnam Professional League Committee and the Vietnam Football Association, the Vietnam League, which was scheduled to resume on July 31, was expected to be fully completed by the end of August so that the national team could focus on preparing for the upcoming Top 12 tournament. However, on July 8, the Vietnam Professional League Committee suddenly issued a notice announcing that the restart of the league had been postponed again and that it was awaiting new instructions. The change has heightened the suspense over whether the Vietnam national team will be able to play at home in the Top 12 tournament.
The Vietnam national team returned home after completing their duties in the group stage of the Top 40 tournament. Originally, the Vietnam Football Association (VFA) announced that the national team would be released from the restriction after only seven days of quarantine, but after the quarantine period expired, the national team's quarantine was prolonged by one week until June 30 when the restriction was completely lifted. Only then were the players able to return home to recuperate.On July 2, the Vietnam Professional League Committee and the Football Association called a video conference with the first and second division teams and decided to restart the domestic league on July 31st.
The Vietnam Professional League Committee and the Football Association submitted a report to the Vietnamese government to restart the league, expecting it to resume on July 31st. However, due to the complexity of the epidemic in Vietnam, especially the rebound of the epidemic in major cities represented by Ho Chi Minh City, the central and local governments have strengthened the control of the epidemic. The Ho Chi Minh metropolitan area has even implemented a strict quarantine policy, and the Vietnamese Ministry of Health has also required all incoming personnel to strictly implement quarantine measures. As a result, the Vietnamese authorities did not approve the restart plan proposed by the Football Association and the League Committee.
In the notice, the league committee clearly stated that "it will continue to closely monitor the development of the epidemic, adjust the league restart plan and restart the league when the conditions are ripe to ensure the smooth running of the league this season. Meanwhile, clubs will be informed of the specific restart time in the first instance."
The failure of the league to restart on July 31 as originally planned means that the Vietnamese league may not be fully completed by late August, which will have an impact on the Vietnam national team's preparations for the tournament. In addition, due to the delay in the restart of the league, whether the Vietnam national team can play at home in the 12-team tournament is once again in the spotlight. Previously, it has been reported that due to the epidemic, the Vietnamese team may not be able to play their home matches in the country for the 12-team tournament. According to the schedule, Vietnam will host Australia on September 7 in the second round of the tournament.
