Sport in Vietnam
Encyclopedia
Football
Association football in VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
is run by the Vietnam Football Federation
Vietnam Football Federation
The Vietnam Football Federation is the governing body of football in Vietnam. It is responsible for the Vietnam men's, women's, olympic, and other youth teams as well as national competitions....
. The federation administers the Vietnam national football team
Vietnam national football team
The Vietnam national football team is the national football team representing Vietnam and is managed by the Vietnam Football Federation.In the FIFA World Rankings, Vietnam's highest standing was in the first release of the figures, in September 1998, at 84th...
, as well as the V-League
V-League
The number of foreign players is restricted to five per team. A team could use three foreigners on the field each game.As 2009 statistics, about half of V-League foreign players are Brazilian and the rest come from Argentina, Nigeria, Ghana, Czech Republic, Thailand and others.-Attendance:V-League...
, Vietnam First Division
Vietnam First Division
The Vietnamese First Division is the second tier league in Vietnamese football, after the V-League, with 14 teams competing.- Format :The league comprises 14 teams. Over the course of a season, each team plays twice against the others in the league, once at 'home' and once 'away', resulting in each...
, and Vietnam Second Division
Vietnam Second Division
The Vietnam Second Division which has 18 teams, both professional and semi-professional, is divided into 3 groups with 6 teams by geographical place....
.
Football is the most popular sport in Vietnam. Its annual V-League competition has taken place since 1980 till now (except in 1988 and 1999).
When Vietnam was split into North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
and South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
, two national teams existed. The North Vietnamese team was not very active, playing almost exclusively other Communist countries between 1956 and 1966 whilst the South Vietnamese team took part in the first two AFC Asian Cup
AFC Asian Cup
The AFC Asian Cup is an international association football tournament run by the Asian Football Confederation . It is the second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa América. The winning team becomes the champion of Asia and automatically qualifies for the FIFA...
finals, finishing fourth both times.
Australian Rules Football
Organised Australian Rules FootballAustralian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
has been played in Vietnam since 1998 when the Saigan Saints, was formed by expatriate Australians. It was followed shortly after by new rivals the Hanoi Hawks, also established by Australian expatriates. The Saigan Saints stopped playing in 2001.
In 2003, Australian football was reborn in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
under the Hanoi Swans banner with a tri-nations tournament against Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. In 2007, a movement started in Saigan to get footy up again with the goal of combining with Hanoi to form a national team, the Vietnam Swans.
In July 2007, the Vietnam Swans played together for the first time in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
for the 8th Annual Asian Championships. They returned to the Asian Championships in 2008 in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and have been playing ever since.
In 2009, highlights included the ANZAC Day Match against the Thailand Tigers at Hellfire Pass on the Death Burma Railway; a Black Saturday Tribute Match and Fundraiser against the Bali Geckos; a match against HMAS Darwin
HMAS Darwin (FFG 04)
HMAS Darwin , named for the capital city of the Northern Territory, is an Adelaide class guided-missile frigate of the Royal Australian Navy . One of four ships ordered from the United States, Darwin entered service in 1984. During her career, she has operated in the Persian Gulf, as part of the...
and the Asian Championships.
Rugby
Rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
is a minor but growing sport.
Rugby was originally introduced when Vietnam was part of French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
, but this was mainly by French expatriates. After independence there was a long hiatus, as financial and political forces, from famine to the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
meant it was impossible for the game to be played.
As with many minor rugby nations, the sport is centred on the national capital
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
.
The Indochinese Cup was established in 1999, as a four sided tournament between Vietnamese teams from Saigon and Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, Vientiane
Vientiane
-Geography:Vientiane is situated on a bend of the Mekong river, which forms the border with Thailand at this point.-Climate:Vientiane features a tropical wet and dry climate with a distinct monsoon season and a dry season. Vientiane’s dry season spans from November through March. April marks the...
(Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
) and Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
in Cambodia.
The historical connection with France is a mixed blessing. A number of people who could qualify for Vietnam's national team play in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. An example is the MHRC
Montpellier Hérault RC
Montpellier Hérault Rugby Club is a professional French rugby union, based in Montpellier the capital of Languedoc-Roussillon. The club competes in the top level of the French league system, in the Top 14. They originally played at Stade Sabathé but moved to the Stade Yves-du-Manoir in 2007...
player François Trinh-Duc
François Trinh-Duc
François Trinh-Duc is a French rugby union player for Montpellier Hérault RC in France's top division of rugby union, the Top 14. Trinh-Duc's regular position is at fly-half or outside centre.-Biography:...
, who has a Vietnamese grandfather.
Notable athletes
Bui Thi NhungBui Thi Nhung
Bui Thi Nhung is a Vietnamese high jumper. Her personal best jump is 1.94 metres, achieved in June 2005 in Bangkok.She won the gold medal at the 2003 Asian Championships, and finished fourth at the 2006 Asian Games. She also competed at the 2004 Olympic Games without reaching the...
and Vu Thi Huong are two main athletes from Vietnam.
Bui Thi Nhung won the gold medal at the 2003 Asian Athletics Championships, and finished 4th at the 2006 Asian Games
2006 Asian Games
The 15th Asian Games, officially known as the XV Asiad, is Asia's Olympic-style sporting event that was held in Doha, Qatar from December 1 to December 15, 2006. Doha was the first city in its region and only the second in West Asia to host the games...
. Bui Thi Nhung also competed at the 2004 Olympic Games
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
without reaching the final.
Vu Thi Huong is a track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
sprint athlete who competes internationally for Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
Huong won the silver medal in women's 100m event and the bronze medal in women's 200m event at the 2007 Asian Athletics Championship in Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
.
At recent Southeast Asian Games
Southeast Asian Games
The Southeast Asian Games , is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia...
editions, she has been dominating the short distances. She won the double (both 100m and 200m) gold medal at the 2007 Games
2007 Southeast Asian Games
The 24th Southeast Asian Games was held in Nakhon Ratchasima , Thailand from December 6 to December 15, 2007....
in Thailand, and the 100m gold and 200m silver at the 2005 Games
2005 Southeast Asian Games
The 23rd Southeast Asian Games were held in the Philippines from November 27 to December 5 in 2005. The games were participated by the eleven nations of Southeast Asia. This was the first time that the opening and closing ceremonies were held in a large open field, despite the fact that Manila...
in the Philippines. At the first SEA Games in her career (2003 in Vietnam) she won bronze medal in the 100m and silver medal in the 4x100 relay with the Vietnam team.
Huong represented Vietnam at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Vietnam at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Vietnam competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. It is the 13th summer games in which the nation has competed since its first appearance in 1952. Although it has sent a modest delegation every year it has competed, Vietnam had only earned one Olympic medal before Beijing...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. She competed at the 100m
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...
sprint and placed third in her first round heat after Kim Gevaert
Kim Gevaert
Kim Gevaert is a former sprint athlete from Belgium.-Career:Her closest brush with a world title came in running 4/100 of a second behind three-time champion Gail Devers at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics...
and Yulia Nestsiarenka in a time of 11.65 seconds. She qualified for the second round in which she failed to qualify for the semi- finals as her time of 11.70 seconds was the 8th and slowest time of her race.
Chess
Vietnam is home to many chess players who compete internationally, among the well known being Cesar BouttevilleCésar Boutteville
César Boutteville is a French–Vietnamese chess master.The son of a French father and a Vietnamese mother, Cesar Boutteville was born in Thin-Hao , nowadays part of Hanoi's urban district Dong Da...
, Hoang Thanh Trang
Hoang Thanh Trang
Hoang Thanh Trang is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster.Her current FIDE Elo rating is 2487.Hoang was born in Hanoi, Vietnam, and was ten years old when her family moved to Budapest....
, Le Quang Liem
Le Quang Liem
Lê Quang Liêm is a leading Vietnamese chess player. He was the Under-14 World Youth Chess Champion in July 2005. He competed for Vietnam at the Chess Olympiads in 2006 and 2008....
, Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son
Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son
Nguyễn Ngọc Trường Sơn is a leading Vietnamese chess player. After learning chess at the age of 3, he won the gold medal at the world under 10 championship in 2000. He is Vietnam's youngest Grandmaster ever, and one of the youngest grandmasters in the history of the game...
, and Paul Truong
Paul Truong
Paul Truong is an American chess player, trainer, promoter, and organizer.-Biography:Truong was born Hoainhan Truong in Saigon, South Vietnam....
.
Martial Arts
More than 70 years later, most of the Vietnamese martial arts schools worldwide emerging from Vo Co Truyen's development practice Vo Thuat:
- Van Vo Dao (Vo Su Kinh Chu)
- Vo Vietnam (Nguyen Duc Moc)
- Vo Thuat (Nguyen Van Trung)
- Vo Binh Dinh / Tay Son Binh Dinh (Thanh Long)
- Minh LongMinh LongMinh Long is a district of Quang Ngai province in the South Central Coastal region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 14,634. The district covers an area of 216 km². The district capital lies at Long Hiep....
(Tran Minh Long) - Kim LongKim LongKim Long is a commune and village in Châu Đức District, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, in Vietnam....
(Nguyen Trung Hoa) - Vovinam Viet Vo DaoVovinamVovinam is a Vietnamese martial art.Vovinam is practiced with and without weapons. It is based on the principle of between hard and soft. It includes training of the body as well as the mind. It uses force and reaction of the opponent. Vovinam also includes hand, elbow, kicks, escape- and levering...
(Nguyen Loc) - Nhat Nam (Ngo Xuan Bing)
- Tay Son Nhan (Vo Su To Dinh Thanh)
- Lam Chanh Tong
- Viet Dao Quan (Giao Su Tien Si Dang Quang Luong)
In Vietnam itself many people also practice
- Vo Co Truyen
- Thieu Lam Viet Nam
- Kim Ke-Tay Son Nhan
- Phakwondo Hoa Quyen Dao
- Hong Gia Viet Nam
- Nam Huynh Dao
- Lam SonLam Sơnis a commune and village in Na Rì District, Bắc Kạn Province, in Vietnam....
Also there are various Sino
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
-Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese styles, styles that are only partially Vietnamese which were popular among Chinese who lived in Vietnam, for example
- Thieu Lam (Shaolinquan)
- Noi Quyen (Neiquan)
- Bach My Phai (Baimeipai, Baimeiquan)
Other styles include
- Mai Hoa Quyen (MeihuaquanMeihuaquanMeihua Quan is a very common name in kung fu:*1)a style of kung fu that originated in the northern provinces of China centuries ago...
) - Sa Long Cuong
- Quan Khi DaoQuan Khi DaoQwan Ki Do , also written Quan Khi Dao, is a Sino-Vietnamese martial art, founded in 1981 based on traditional martial arts styles.-Etymology :*Qwan: "the whole"*Ki: "energy", also known as Khi...
Vovinam
Vovinam
Vovinam is a Vietnamese martial art.Vovinam is practiced with and without weapons. It is based on the principle of between hard and soft. It includes training of the body as well as the mind. It uses force and reaction of the opponent. Vovinam also includes hand, elbow, kicks, escape- and levering...
and Nhat Nam are the main Vietnamese martial arts, followed by others.