No re-draw for the National Cup 2023

Saigon FC transferred to Lam Dong failed. This team then asked not to participate in the National Cup and National First Class in 2023. Therefore, VPF and 24 Vietnamese professional football clubs had to meet this afternoon on March 7 to discuss a plan to change the schedule.

Only two teams, Binh Thuan and Ho Chi Minh City, commented on the re-draw for the National Cup. The remaining 22 teams all want to keep the schedule, because a re-draw will create a precedent that is difficult to handle later when a team quits while playing. As a result, the schedule of the National Cup was kept unchanged, with the rule that "the club that competes with the team that does not participate is considered the winner".

According to the original schedule, the winner of the match between Phu Dong FC and Hoa Binh FC will meet Saigon FC in the 1/8 round. But because the opponent dropped out, Phu Dong or Hoa Binh will go straight to the quarterfinals. The remaining 11 teams in this bracket are Thanh Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria Vung Tau, Phu Dong, Hoa Binh, HAGL, Hue, Binh Duong, Phu Tho, PVF-People's Public Security and Da Nang. The other branch is heavier with the team holding the Cup - Hanoi FC, Viettel, Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, Hanoi Police, Nam Dinh, Hai Phong, Binh Dinh, SLNA, Quang Nam, Ha Tinh, Long An and Binh Phuoc.

The 2023 National Cup kicks off on April 1 in the knockout format. After the end of the official 90 minutes, if the score is tied, the two teams will play a penalty shootout to decide the next ticket. The champion team received 2 billion VND in prize money, the second place team received 1 billion VND, and the two third prize winners each received 400 million VND.

With the First Division, the match schedule is re-drawn due to the break of Saigon FC. With the remaining 10 teams, including Ba Ria Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, Hoa Binh, Hue, Long An, Phu Dong, Phu Tho, PVF-People's Public Security and Quang Nam, the tournament has enough time. The teams agreed to return to the round-robin format with two rounds of ranking points, instead of the previous plan of finishing stage one, separating into two groups, one for the championship and the other for relegation. The tournament is expected to start on April 6, the winning team will receive a prize of 2 billion VND and tickets to be promoted to play the V-League. Meanwhile, the last team must relegate to play in the second place.