Lilama group and Song Lam Nghe An (SLNA) football club have reached a deal, under which Lilama would provide SLNA with VND25 billion ($1.47 million) this football season.

The funding is sufficient for SLNA (yellow) to raise the salaries and bonuses of its players and to buy some foreign players for the second leg of V-League 2009.

Lilama wants to buy out SLNA and turn it into a subsidiary of this group, a company with the total capital of VND100 billion ($5.88 million). It also wants to make the club one of the top five football teams in Vietnam within five years. According to the deal, the SLNA club would also have its own training centre, hotel, sports supermarket, etc. like a professional Western football club.

However, Lilama would not officially receive SLNA until 2010 because at this moment, SLNA is unable to operate as a business.

This year, Lilama plans to give a VND25 billion package to SLNA, a record high for a team playing in V-League.

According to SLNA, this sum is sufficient for it to raise the salaries and bonuses of its players and coaches and to buy some foreign players for the second phase of V-League 2009.

The deal is expected to be signed on February 28. However, the club’s managing director Ho Van Chiem said the two sides have to wait for the final decision from the Nghe An provincial People’s Council on the signing.

VietNamNet/VNE