New VFF Term: The Suffocating Race for the Finance Vice Chairman Seat

On the morning of October 21, the list of candidates for the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) for the 2027-2031 term was announced. 3 candidates for Chairman, 8 for Vice Chairman, 31 for the Executive Committee. But if one only looks at those numbers, they will miss the most important thing: the real race is not for the Chairman seat.

I have sat long enough in the corridors of Vietnamese football to know that, in a federation, the Chairman seat is honor. The Finance Vice Chairman seat is power. And this term, that seat has two names: Nguyen Xuan Vu and Nguyen Duc Thuy.

The real race is not for the Chairman seat

Tran Quoc Tuan, the incumbent Chairman, is nominated for both the Chairman seat and the Professional Affairs Vice Chairman seat. Nguyen Xuan Vu, the incumbent Communications Vice Chairman, is nominated for the Chairman seat, the Finance Vice Chairman seat, and the Communications Vice Chairman seat. This violates the rule that one person may only run for one position. But it also shows something else: both are hedging.

Tran Quoc Tuan is 54 this year, having served for 5 years. He holds positions in the AFF Competitions Committee, AFC, and FIFA. That is his greatest asset: Vietnam's voice in the region and the world. A new Chairman would lose those positions. That is why he is nominated. But his nomination for the Professional Affairs Vice Chairman seat as well shows something else: he is not fully confident in the Chairman vote.

Nguyen Duc Thuy, 49, a construction and banking businessman, is said to have "considerable support." But that is the author's opinion, not data. There is no poll, no delegate count. And in Vietnamese football, support is measured by the secret ballot of 57 member organizations, not by praise in the newspaper.

The Finance Vice Chairman seat: Where money and power meet

Nguyen Xuan Vu is a familiar face. He is a long-standing bank board member, described as having extensive cross-sector relationships. He is also the Chairman of the Vietnam Table Tennis Federation. That is a typical "relationship capital" profile: he does not bring money, he brings a network.

Nguyen Duc Thuy is a different profile. He is a construction and banking businessman, having been involved in football twice: Sai Gon Xuan Thanh (2026-2026, dissolved) and Ninh Binh from 2026. That is a "capital injection" profile. But there is a notable detail: at the start of the 2026-2026 season, he transferred the Chairmanship of Ninh Binh club to his daughter Nguyen Ngoc My Anh. This is a restructuring move before entering politics: separating personal assets from the position he is about to hold to avoid conflicts of interest.

It is a smart move. But it also raises a question: if Thuy wins, will Ninh Binh receive favors in scheduling or licensing? That question has no answer in the article. But it is a question that anyone following Vietnamese football should ask.

The silence of 57 member organizations

The article does not discuss the geographic or club-tier distribution of the 57 member organizations. That is the most important variable for predicting the outcome. Historically, federation elections in Vietnam have often been decided by bloc voting of provincial clubs and local federations, not by the newspaper narrative. This article takes a personal-profile approach, which may have underestimated bloc dynamics.

There is another detail: 18 of the 31 Executive Committee candidates come from clubs (12 V-League, 5 First Division, 1 Second Division). That means club interests hold a majority in the Executive Committee. Any reform agenda must satisfy the top-tier clubs first.

And there is one more detail: two women candidates, Nguyen Thi My Dung and Bui Thi Hien Luong. Ms. Dung is a member of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee. That is a diversity signal and a notable international credential.

What will happen after election day?

The vetting process by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is the least transparent step in the entire election cycle. Historically, this is where political factors can intervene. If a candidate is rejected, the congress may be delayed. That is a medium risk but with high impact.

The biggest risk is financial. VFF does not disclose its financial situation. A new leadership team may inherit undisclosed financial obligations. That is why an audit before the congress is necessary.

But there is one thing I have learned after years of standing in dressing-room corridors: the biggest decisions are often made not in the meeting room, but in the pauses. And in this pause, when the candidate list is still incomplete, when nomination documents have not all arrived, when the congress date has not been set, the real story is still being written.

Rhythm is not in the feet, but in where people stand when the ball has not yet arrived. And at VFF, the ball of power is rolling toward the Finance Vice Chairman seat, where two men with two different ways of playing are waiting. One brings a network of relationships. One brings a flow of capital. Who will be standing there when the ball stops?