The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) on November 18 announced final decisions relating to the use of foreign football players in local football tournaments in 2010.

Ninh Binh club’s goalkeeper Dinh Hoang La (Ukraine).

Each team will be allowed to use only one Vietnamese naturalized player and three foreign players at a time. Therefore, each team can have up to four players who are not of Vietnamese origin appearing at a time in a match.

At the conference on professional football held by VFF on November 13, representatives of 14 clubs at the V-League and 12 clubs of the First Division Tournament agreed that in the upcoming football season, each V-League club will be allowed to use only one foreign player who has Vietnamese citizenship and three foreign players at a time.

In addition, as from the football season 2011, any club playing at the V-League that is not transmitted into registered companies will be rejected. For the First Division Tournament, all clubs will have to turn into companies from 2014.

This suggestion was immediately protested by some clubs that have had or are about to have Vietnamese naturalized players. They said that once foreign players are granted Vietnamese citizenship, they are Vietnamese and they have to right to play football as Vietnamese. The restriction of foreign players should be applied for foreign players only.

However, VFF’s meeting on November 18 still agreed with the suggestion of the meeting on November 13. If a team uses two Vietnamese naturalized players at a time, the second will be considered as a foreign player.

The number of foreign players each V-League club can register for the 2010 season is five and they can use up to three at a time in a match. From 2011 to 2013, each professional football club can register only four and use three foreign players. Meanwhile, First Division tournament’s clubs are allowed to register three and use two foreign players.

The VFF will invite clubs’ representative to join the organizing board of V-League as from 2010.

VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre