VietNamNet Bridge – While Thailand has drawn a roadmap to the World Cup 2018 and Olympics 2016, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) is busy with denouncements and quarrels.
VFF chairman Le Hung Dung (left).
After taking the AFF Cup championship last year, Thai coach Kiatisuk boldly set out three major objectives for the Thai national football team in 2015: successfully defending the men’s football gold medal at the 28th SEA Games, winning a card to the 2018 World Cup finals and a card to the 2016 Olympics Rio.
The first goal was achieved easily, proving that Thai football is now at a different level compared to the rest of South East Asia.
The two remaining goals are harder, but looking at the capacity of Thai football, people still believe that the targets have a good chance.
The current level of Thai football can almost catch up with the first group in Asia. The proof is that Thai clubs play well with representatives of the leading football countries in Asia as Japan, South Korea, and China, while the Thai national teams are also capable of competing with South Korea and North Korea.
For Vietnam football, even the tiny dream of being a SEA Games champion seems to be very far.
The Vietnam U23 team just ended the 28th SEA Games with the third position. The team failed to reach the championship. Instead of sitting down to analyze the cause of failure, the strong and weak points of the team, the VFF is having a headache with denouncements pointing to its officials.
Two top VFF officials have been accused by a subordinate of taking bribes from him, only a few days after he was laid off in a major downsizing.
According to local media, Nguyen Van Chuong, the former director of VFF’s Young Football Players Training Center, was dismissed along with other employees on June 1 under a lay-off plan.
After that, Chuong revealed that VFF chairman Le Hung Dung and his deputy Tran Quoc Tuan had taken VND100 million (US$4,587) each from him.
Chuong said as soon as he heard about the lay-off plan, he asked to meet the two officials to offer them the bribes, but he still ended up being fired.
In his complaint sent to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the General Department of Sports and local press agencies, Chuong said he gave Tuan VND100 million on July 15, 2014, but in May this year Tuan gave him back the money, saying he could not help.
Chuong said he met Dung at the latter’s house, giving him VND100 million and other gifts on August 28, 2014. He told the media he hired a lawyer to represent him and was ready to provide evidence to support his accusation.
Meanwhile, Dung denied taking any bribe. He said Chuong accompanied Tran Duy Long, former chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Football Federation, to his house on August 28, 2014 after he returned from Singapore for medical treatment.
He said he did not expect to see Chuong at his house. Chuong gave him a clock as a gift, but he refused to take it. Chuong tried to leave the clock at his house and left. He said there was no money involved. He said he would also hire a lawyer to represent him.
The case has not been solved yet. While officials of the VFF are busy with quarrels, who takes care of Vietnam football?
The Thao/Thanh Nien
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