Bau Thuy prepares to run for VFF presidency: a personnel race and a governance rhythm

On a late weekend afternoon in a stadium corridor, after the stands had closed and only a cleaning crew was still dragging rows of plastic seats, I heard two football people mention Bau Thuy. They spoke of a closed-door meeting, of phone calls asking about the mood inside member federations, and of the possibility that Nguyen Duc Thuy would return to the race for chairman of the Vietnam Football Federation. There were no boots, no whistles, only a personnel contest beginning with very soft handshakes.

For anyone who has followed Vietnamese football for years, the name Bau Thuy brings several things at once: a businessman who once stepped into VFF, a period when domestic football still carried the seams between subsidy and market, and a style of leadership built on relationships rather than communications. The news that he is preparing to run did not come from a press release. It came from small meetings, informal dinners and quiet inquiries in the corridors of tournaments. In Vietnamese football, such signals usually arrive well before the ballot.

VFF is in the final year of its 2026-2026 term. The 2026-2030 congress will elect a new executive committee, and the chairman will be chosen by delegates from member federations, clubs, affiliated units and other members. Incumbent Tran Quoc Tuan remains the central figure in every calculation. V.League 1 has 14 clubs, each with its own voice, and each member federation has its own needs regarding scheduling, funding, refereeing and youth development. A VFF election therefore resembles a round-robin tournament more than a single vote.

What is easily missed is that a VFF congress is not a referendum of fans. Fans may argue fiercely online, but the ballot belongs to delegates. Those delegates come from provinces whose clubs struggle financially, from youth academies that need funding, from units under pressure to deliver results. They vote for someone who can solve their problems, or at least someone who makes them believe their problems will be heard. A candidate with a big public name may still lack votes if he cannot build a coalition.

At VFF, a delegate’s vote does not follow the name in the newspaper; it follows the interest of the unit the delegate represents. Bau Thuy understands this better than many. He has held the VFF chairmanship and has sat through meetings where every member federation had its own request. That experience is an asset, but also a burden. It helps him know who needs what, while reminding people of the periods that were left unresolved. In a race where personal credibility can be weighed and measured, the past is both an entry ticket and a record under scrutiny.

Bau Thuy’s advantage lies in his network. He is a businessman with ties across football groups, from traditional clubs to youth football organisations. He also has external relations experience and has worked with regional football bodies. For a VFF that needs sponsorship, lobbying and a connector-in-chief, a chairman capable of fundraising is a clear advantage. But VFF is not a company. Its voting structure, representational logic and public pressure make the chairmanship different from a board chairmanship. There, the skill of persuading a collective matters as much as the ability to sign a sponsorship deal.

The biggest issues of the next term are finance and scheduling. VFF must balance the national team, youth tournaments and V.League 1. Every time the national team gathers, clubs lose players. Every time the schedule is compressed, match quality and player health are put on the table. Refereeing and VAR are two other flashpoints. A VFF chairman cannot personally correct referees, but can create a more transparent mechanism, better training and fewer repeated controversies. Youth development is similar. If the debate focuses only on national-team results without investment in the system, Vietnamese football will keep living off lucky generations.

Based on my experience covering matches, VFF chairmanship races are rarely decided by a speech. They are decided by pre-congress meetings, by the allocation of executive committee seats, by funding commitments to member federations. I learned that from an afternoon at a training ground, when a captain told a young player that the match does not take place only on the grass. The question from Field 9 in 2026 planted something in me: where does football beat when nobody scores? And in an empty dressing room, I heard a match that had never been broadcast. The microphone stumble of 2026 did not silence me; it taught me to listen before writing. Those lessons make me see the VFF race as a match with many invisible passing lanes.

A lazy reading is that if Bau Thuy returns, Vietnamese football goes back to the past. That reading ignores a fact: VFF lacks people who can connect interest groups that are increasingly fragmented. An experienced candidate could ease tensions between clubs and the federation, between the national team and the domestic league. The concern is not that he once served as chairman. The concern is whether he brings a new mechanism or simply restores old habits. If a return comes without reform on financial transparency, club rights and youth development, a familiar name will not be enough to create a new rhythm.

Bau Thuy’s difficulty is persuading the younger generation inside the system. Today’s clubs have presidents, technical directors and communications teams who work differently from before. They need data, clear schedules and a voice in competition decisions. A VFF chairman who wants their votes must speak that language. He cannot rely only on personal relationships. He needs an action programme specific enough for member federations to see benefits, and flexible enough not to turn the congress into a division of spoils. This is where every candidate, including the incumbent, is tested.

The signal worth watching is not whether Bau Thuy announces his candidacy. The signal lies in the delegate list, in how V.League 1 clubs organise their closed meetings, in whether VFF publishes its financial report and term plan. If groups supporting him go public before the congress, the race will heat up. If they stay silent, that may indicate a backroom deal or a waiting game. Fans should look at the action programme, not only at the name. A VFF chair can change hands, but the governance rhythm changes only when a new mechanism exists.

I write for those who remain in the dressing room after the stadium lights go out. For them, the VFF race is not adult conversation. It is a rescheduled fixture, money that has not arrived, a narrower path to the national team. Bau Thuy may open a new cycle, or he may be just another name in the old one. What matters is not whether he runs. What matters is whether he brings a way of working new enough for those left in the dressing room to believe their footsteps will be counted.