VietNamNet Bridge – The Chairman of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF,) Nguyen Trong Hy, disclosed that the bonus would be huge if the national football team takes the championship at the AFF Cup 2008.

Vietnamese football players at the Royal Phuket Hotel.

The federation has not fixed the bonus for the team yet. However, in the two recent international friendly matches against North Korea (0-0), and Thailand (2-2), the team received a VND 400 million ($23,500) bonus from the VFF. The bonus for the AFF Cup, which is the largest event in the year, therefore, must be much higher.

VFF’s Vice Chairman in charge of finance, Le Hung Dung, said the federation would surely give a timely bonus to the team but he did not reveal how much per match.

VFF Chairman, Nguyen Trong Hy, said he does not agree with the idea of the bonus being announced in advance. “We should not announce the bonus before each match. Let’s play football well and they will get bonus. It is not good to pay so much attention to the bonus,” Hy said.

He disclosed that the bonus at the AFF Cup is “invaluable”. “If the Vietnamese team wins the AFF Cup championship, the bonus would be dozens of billions of dong. Besides a material bonus, the love of the fans would be an invaluable reward. Our footballers surely understand this,” Hy said.

VFF has sought only one sponsor for the national team in two years (Yamaha Motor Vietnam with $250,000 per year) and this sponsor did not say a word about a bonus for the team at the AFF Cup 2008.

Besides a contract with Yamaha Motor Vietnam, VFF has just signed a five-year contract with Nike, starting from 2009 ($1 million per year, increasing annually). However, Nike’s sponsorship will be through costumes and sports equipment, not cash.

The AFF Cup 2008 champion will receive a $100,000 bonus from the organizing board. The second team will have $50,000 while the two third teams will take $15,000 each.

(Source: VNE)