Vietnam’s top professional football league launches its new season today, marking the start of the 2026 to 2027 V.League 1 campaign and the forty fourth edition of the country’s premier domestic competition. Defending champions Cong An Hanoi enter the season looking to build on a dominant run that has established them as the dominant force in Vietnamese football over recent years.
Cong An Hanoi secured their second consecutive domestic title, and third overall, after a convincing two nil win over Dong A Thanh Hoa in the final round of last season’s competition. That victory capped a strong campaign and cemented the club’s reputation as the team to beat heading into this new season, with rivals across the league looking for ways to close the gap at the top of the table.
League officials confirmed the season will run through May 22 of next year, giving clubs a long campaign stretching across roughly nine months of competition. Fixtures for the new season were drawn and released in early August, giving teams several weeks to finalize preparations before today’s opening round of matches kicks off across multiple venues nationwide.
This marks the twenty seventh season since Vietnamese football adopted a fully professional league structure, reflecting steady growth in the sport’s organization and competitiveness since that transition took place. The league has grown in profile over recent years, drawing larger crowds and increased broadcast attention as clubs have invested in improved facilities, stronger squads, and more structured youth development programs across the country.
A notable addition to this season’s calendar involves a scheduled break running from late December through mid February, timed specifically to allow Vietnam’s national team to compete in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup without disrupting domestic club football. That break reflects growing coordination between league organizers and the national football federation as Vietnam continues building its presence in regional and continental competition.
Fourteen clubs will compete across the season, representing cities and provinces from across the country, with several teams based in and around the capital region alongside sides from central and southern Vietnam. That geographic spread gives the league a genuinely national character, drawing fan interest from different regions throughout the long campaign ahead.
Football remains one of the most popular sports in Vietnam, and the start of a new V.League 1 season typically draws significant public attention, both from fans attending matches in person and from the large television audiences that follow the league throughout the year. Club managers and players alike have spent the preseason period fine tuning tactics and squad depth ahead of what promises to be a competitive campaign given the strength several clubs have shown in recent transfer windows.
As today’s opening matches get underway, attention will focus on whether Cong An Hanoi can maintain their recent dominance across a third straight campaign, or whether a resurgent challenger can finally break their grip on the title. With a long season ahead, an Asian Cup break built into the calendar, and strong fan interest nationwide, this year’s V.League 1 campaign is shaping up as one of the most closely watched in recent memory as Vietnamese football continues its steady growth both domestically and on the wider regional stage.
