Le Hongdong, former chairman of VFF, died

After years of fighting cancer, Mr Le Hongdong swallowed his last breath at about 2.15 am. VFF General Secretary Le Hoai Anh and permanent members will visit their homes to pay their respects to their families.

Mr. Le Hung Dung was born in 1954 in Cho Moi, Anjiang. In the market, he is known as the chairman of the board of directors of Export-Import Bank and Furen Jewelry Company (SJC). At the 7th VFF Conference in 2014, Mr. Dong was the only candidate for chairman and was approved by the conference with 96.7% of the votes.

Mr Dung, the first businessman in history, was elected chairman of the VFF. Prior to this, he served as vice president in charge of finance for many years. In this role, Mr. Le Hongdong helped the national competition to have a stable source of funds, and the national team was well taken care of. Mr. Dong has also left his mark on many important issues in Vietnamese football.

During Mr Le Hung Dung's time at VFF, Vietnamese football won the AFF Cup twice in 2008 and 2018. He also negotiated directly to bring the Brazilian Olympics to Vietnam to compete in 2008, making a significant contribution to Arsenal and Manchester City's summer trip to Vietnam.

Since 2015, Mr Dung's health has deteriorated due to cancer. He rarely appeared in front of the media and had to ask his colleagues to help him work at VFF. In 2018, he left VFF at the end of his tenure as president. Mr. Le Khanh Hai, then Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, was chosen to take over.

Following the resignation of Mr Hai, Mr Tran Quoc Tuan has been appointed acting chairman of the VFF since early 2022. Mr. Duan served as Vice President in charge of professional knowledge in 2014-2018 and 2018-2022.