Foreign players allowed in national volleyball league again after nine years

Clubs in the national league will be allowed to register two foreign players and only field one per game.

“The fact that VFV banned foreign players in the past comes partly from inadequacies in management and training of young players, leading to a lack of inheritance, so it wanted to create opportunities for more domestic players in the league. However, over time, this ban has gone against the current trend of professional sports, not to mention some teams still try to sign foreign players by neutralizing them, which didn’t increase the quality of the league,” former VFV President Nguyen Ba Nghi told Thanh Nien newspaper.

Nghi said the use of foreign players is reasonable since they will help diversify the league. Moreover, their professionalism and playing style will be the driving force for Vietnamese players to learn from, thereby helping increase competitiveness among teams, he added. “Their presence will also attract more attention to the league.”

VFV General Secretary Le Tri Truong affirmed VFV has considered and concluded that youth training is a long term plan and it’s compulsory for any club. However, the league needs foreign players to increase quality and media coverage. That’s why many members of VFV have agreed to bring back foreign players.

Following the decision, many clubs have already contacted players from China, Myanmar, Russia, Thailand, and Ukraine.