V.League 1

V.League 1
Organising body	Vietnam Football Federation (VPF)
Founded	1980
First season	1980
Country	Vietnam
Confederation	AFC
Number of teams	14
Level on pyramid	1
Relegation to	V.League 2
Domestic cup(s)	Vietnamese Cup; Vietnamese Super Cup
International cup(s)	AFC Champions League 2; ASEAN Club Championship
Current champions	Hanoi Police (1st title) ; (2023)
Most championships	Thể Công-Viettel; Hanoi (6 titles)
Most appearances	Lê Tấn Tài (434)
Top goalscorer	Hoàng Vũ Samson (202)
TV partners	FPT Play ; TV360 (except with network-only commentary between half) ; VTV (VTV5) ; HTV (HTV Thể Thao) ; (FPT produces all matches except when VTV and HTV is live)
Website	vpf.vn
	Current: 2023–24 V.League 1

The V.League 1 (Vietnamese: Giải bóng đá vô địch quốc gia, lit. 'National Football Championship'), also called Night Wolf V.League 1 for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football league in Vietnam, controlled by the Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF). It is contested by 14 clubs who play each other on a home and away basis. The team finishing at the top at the end of the season is crowned the champion and enters the AFC Champions League 2.

The league was founded in 1980 as the All Vietnam Football Championship, with Tổng Cục Đường Sắt the first winner. The league turned professional in the 2000–01 season, which allowed clubs to hire foreign players. Vietnam Professional Football (VPF) was established in 2012, and the organising power was transferred from the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) to Vietnam Professional Football Jointstock Company (VPF).

Viettel and Hanoi have won the title 6 times each, the most among V-League clubs. Viettel (formerly Thể Công) also has a total of 19 national titles since 1954, with Hai Phong second accumulating 13 titles. The current champion is Hanoi Police which won the 2023 edition.

History

Pre-unification to 1979

The Vietnamese football league system was formed in 1955. From the beginning, this League (AKA the Northern league) was split into Division A and Division B. The South Vietnamese league was formed in 1960. Since then, league football has been played north and south even during war time. The number of teams was extraordinary. For example, Haiphong had 10 clubs back then.^[1] Hai Phong Police has won 10 titles in the North, while Thể Công has won 9.

After reunification, Vietnamese football leagues were played on a regional basis: Hồng Hà League in the North; Trường Sơn League in the Central; and Cửu Long League in the South.

Responding to the constraints of organizing in regions, VFF reorganised the league system during the 1979 season.

Foundation and early days

The V.League 1, as it is known today, began in 1980 when the first All Vietnam Football Championship was launched. Seventeen clubs participated in the competition (originally 18, but Thể Công withdrawn due to internal reasons) which was split into three groups and conducted more like a cup competition, with the winner from each group qualifying for the Championship Stage. Công An Hà Nội, Tổng Cục Đường Sắt and Hải Quan were the three teams to qualify, with Tổng Cục Đường Sắt ultimately taking the title. That format, reduced to two groups, continued until 1995 when the league reverted to a more traditional league format.

Turning professional

League football in Vietnam turned professional in the 2000–2001 season, which saw the league change its name to its current moniker, V-League 1. In that inaugural V-League 1 season, only ten clubs participated, with tighter restrictions meaning fewer teams. Over the next decade, the league grew from 10 teams to the current fourteen, with the team that finishes on top of the table qualifying for the AFC Champions League Group Stage. Clubs were allowed to hire foreign players from this season on.

VPF establishment

Following a season marred by accusations of refereeing corruption and a cover-up by the V.League governing body Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), six clubs (Đồng Tâm Long An, Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, Hanoi ACB, Vissai Ninh Bình, Khatoco Khánh Hòa and Lam Sơn Thanh Hóa^[2]) threatened to leave the league and form an entirely new league for the 2012 season. The most outspoken club in the move was Hanoi ACB, who had been relegated from the V.League, with its chairman Nguyễn Đức Kiên announcing that ACB would spearhead the move. Due to the controversy, EximBank expressed its intention to drop its title sponsorship of the league. League officials scrambled to resolve the issues, going so far as to hire foreign referees for the 2012 season.^[3]^[4] After a meeting on 29 September, representatives of the VFF, the 14 V.League 1 teams, and 14 V.League 2 teams announced the formation of a new corporation, the VPF, Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company to manage the V-League. The VFF would hold a 36% stake in the new corporation, and the rest would be held by clubs.^[2]

From the 2012 season, the organising power was transferred from the VFF to the VPF (Vietnamese Professional Football), and the "V.League 1" was renamed the "Super League". This name change was short-lived, reverting to "V.League 1" later in the season. The first division was renamed the "V.League 2". At the same time, many clubs found themselves with financial problems and sponsor issues, and many withdrew, merged, bought another club, or failed to meet league requirements. As a result, the number of clubs in each league changed dramatically.

Season change

From 2023, the V.League's schedule will be restructured. The 2023 V.League 1 season was the last season to be played from spring to autumn format. The 2023–24 V.League 1 season will also be played to mark the change, running from autumn 2023 to near summer 2024, in line with most domestic leagues in the world.^[5]

Competition format

The V.League 1 season starts in February/March and ends in September. In each season, each club plays each of the other clubs twice, once at home and another away, for a total of 26 games.
Teams are ranked by total points, head-to-head, goal difference and goals scored.
Top team qualifies for AFC Champions League Group stage.
For 2010 season, two bottom teams are relegated to the Vietnam First Division while third lowest placed team goes to play-off with the third highest placed team from the First Division.^[6]
Starting in the 2013 season, the number of clubs participating in the V.League 1 would be decreased from fourteen to twelve after three clubs failed to register. Also in the same season, the bottom team will be relegated to the First Division while the top three teams from the First Division will be promoted into the V-League 1.^[7]
Starting in the 2015 season, the league is competed by 14 teams.^[8]

Sponsorship

Since the 2000–2001 season, the V.League 1 has been branded with a principal sponsor's name and logo. The following companies have acted as principal sponsors:^[9]

Period	Sponsor	Brand
1980–1999	No sponsor	V-League
2000–2002	Strata Sport Marketing	Strata V-League
2003	PepsiCo	Sting V-League
2004	Kinh Do	Kinh Do V-League
2005	Tan Hiep Phat	Number One V-League
2006	Eurowindow	Eurowindow V-League
2007–2010	Petrovietnam Gas	PetroVietnam Gas V-League
2011–2014	Eximbank	Eximbank V.League 1^{[nb 1]}
2015–2017	Toyota	Toyota V.League 1
2018	NutiFood	NutiCafe V.League 1
2019	Masan Group	Wake-up 247 V.League 1
2020–2021	LS Group	LS V.League 1^[10]^[11]
2022–present	Ngọc Linh Ginseng	Night Wolf V.League 1^[12]

Controversies

2013 controversy

'sAfter Xuân Thành Sài Gòn was docked points for what the VFF deemed the club's unsportsmanlike conduct in fielding a non-competitive squad for their Matchday 20 meeting with Sông Lam Nghệ An, club officials announced that the club would withdraw from the league. On 22 August 2013, the VFF approved Xuân Thành Sài Gòn's withdrawal request. Matches involving the club were vacated. The VFF is still debating if the last place club will still be relegated to V.League 2, though the league charter states that the club in 12th place would be the only club relegated in the 2013 campaign.^[13]

Relegation was cancelled for the 2013 campaign after Xuân Thành Sài Gòn withdrew from the V.League 1 before the conclusion of the season.^[14] QNK Quảng Nam, Than Quảng Ninh and Hùng Vương An Giang, as winners, first runners-up and second runners-up respectively, were promoted from the 2013 V.League 2 season. Kienlongbank Kiên Giang failed to apply for the 2014 campaign and subsequently folded during the offseason.^[15]

2014 match-fixing scandal

Vissai Ninh Bình wrote to the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) and to the Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company to be allowed to stop their participation in the league and also the AFC Cup due to 13 players being involved in match fixing. They had played eight league matches and were third from bottom at the time.^[16] Following their withdrawal from the league, all their results were declared null and void.^[17]

Due to the match fixing scandal and withdrawal of Vissai Ninh Bình, it was decided that the bottom-placed team at the end of the season will take part in a play-off match against the third-placed team in the First Division for the right to play in the V-League next season.^[18]

One owner, many teams

On July 5, 2019, Đoàn Nguyên Đức, chairman of Hoàng Anh Gia Lai Club, commented on the situation of one owner owning multiple teams in the V.League. When TP.HCM was leading the standings, talking about TP.HCM's chances of winning the championship this season, bầu Đức said: "I always confirm that TP.HCM cannot win the V.League this year because they are one team, how to face 5 teams. 5 skinny guys beat one fat guy, how can the fat guy stand it?"^[19]. Bầu Đức's statement was reminiscent of Đỗ Quang Hiển - who was then the owner and special sponsor of 7 clubs in the V.League 1 and V.League 2.^[20] Previously, in 2018, Đoàn Nguyên Đức also said that the situation of one owner owning multiple teams would reduce the motivation to invest in Vietnamese football.^[21] Public opinion believes that in the 10 years from 2009 to 2019, only two consecutive championships in 2018 and 2019 were Hanoi FC clearly demonstrating their strength, thanks to a national team squad that sometimes reached 10 people; the remaining championships all had the "fingerprints" of the point-scoring relationships between Hanoi - Da Nang - Quang Nam - Saigon - Quang Ninh - Hong Linh Ha Tinh (which are the clubs of Bầu Hiển).^[22]^[23] The 2022 season also met with controversy when there was a current of public opinion that the 2022 V.League championship of Hanoi FC was also partly due to referee decisions in favor of the purple team.^[24] In addition, Bầu Hiển also caused a lot of controversy when he personally went down to encourage and give money to his own teams in matches between teams related to Bầu Hiển, such as with Saigon, Quang Nam,^[19] or SHB Da Nang.^[25]^[26]^[27] In 2012, after Sài Gòn Xuân Thành failed to win the championship when they were held to a draw by Hà Nội T&T in the final round, allowing SHB Đà Nẵng to win, owner Nguyễn Đức Thụy announced that he would quit football because of too much injustice and oppression; in the 2013 season, he officially disbanded the team. FLC Group chairman Trịnh Văn Quyết, after withdrawing sponsorship from Thanh Hóa in 2018, also hinted that "you can't win when you only have one team."^[19]

The situation of one owner managing or owning multiple teams has become a problem that causes many fans to worry, especially about the transparency and fairness when these teams compete in the same league. Not a few fans hope that VPF needs to take strong measures, specify regulations on banning one person from holding management positions or shares, capital contributions at more than 1 team in the same league to make V.League more fair, cleaner and improve the competitiveness of the tournament.^[28]

Match-fixing

In recent years, the phenomenon of "asking for points and giving points" has become a headache for organizers, as the tournament is believed to have emerged as some alliances between football teams. The situation of "accumulating points" to win or stay in the league often occurs in V.League, in which the formula of "3 away – 3 return" has become popular for teams in an alliance to maximize points for each other. In addition to accumulating points, teams in the alliance also put their efforts to hinder the opponents of the winning candidate belonging to their alliance.^[29] Many matches have taken place with abnormal manifestations that have caused anger for fans because of the spirit of competition that is considered to be weak, not giving their all.^[30] The tournament organizer has also repeatedly issued sanctions, such as subtracting points from football teams in matches that are not active, but the situation of "giving points" still continues.^[31]

The People's Police newspaper noted that the problem of match-fixing is also related to the issue of "one owner, multiple teams". In 2017, the public raised many doubts when Hanoi FC, who were full of hope to win the championship, unexpectedly drew 4-4 with Than Quảng Ninh in a match that the capital team had led by 2 goals. It is worth noting that this score was just enough for Quảng Nam to win the championship for the first time.^[32] Statistics from the 2019 season show that Ho Chi Minh City FC only won 23% of points from Đà Nẵng, Sài Gòn, Quảng Nam and Quảng Ninh, while Hà Nội received 13 out of 15 maximum points before these teams. In the 2017 season, FLC Thanh Hóa lost 22 points to the "brotherhood" group while Quảng Nam lost 9 points.^[29]

To monitor and control suspicious matches, VPF has previously partnered with Sportradar, a football betting control company, and then Genius Sports (headquartered in Singapore and with a global network) since the 2019 season.^[33] In a statement in the 2022 season, VPF had to ask the teams to play their best, not to give points to each other.^[34]^[35]

Refereeing

The refereeing issue has been going on in the tournament for many years and has caused a lot of resentment in the public. Many controversial decisions, even mistakes by referees, have eroded the trust of clubs and fans in the organizers, and the image of the tournament has also been affected.^[36] In a statement in the 2023 season, Vũ Tiến Thành, the coach of HCM City Club, said that there is a group of referees who are manipulated, and some referees are making the image of the refereeing force worse. Thành also questioned the referee's ideology when working.^[37]

The referee assignment for the tournament has also been questioned. This has led to the disappointment of fans when some referees who do not meet the standards are often assigned to important matches. Some people even question whether the referees are "not biased then weak in terms of expertise" when there have been too many mistakes occurring continuously.^[38] One of the temporary solutions proposed to address this situation is to hire foreign referees to officiate some of the tournament matches.^[39]

Due to the continuous occurrence of refereeing errors, which have affected the results of matches, the need to equip VAR for V.League has become increasingly urgent to improve the quality of the tournament.^[40]^[41] From the end of 2022, VPF has begun to carry out the necessary procedures to soon implement VAR in V.League. VPF expects VAR to begin to be deployed on a trial basis from the second phase of the 2023 season, before being applied officially from the 2023-2024 season.^[42]^[43]

Conflict of Interest Related to Sponsors

The V.League regulations typically stipulate that clubs are not allowed to exploit sponsorships with brands and industries that compete with the league's main sponsor since the date the league regulations are issued or when notified by the organizer. However, if the team already has a main sponsor that operates in the same industry as the league's main sponsor from before or has an owner (shareholder) who holds the highest number of shares has business operations in the same industry as the league's main sponsor, then their rights are still protected.^[44]^[45]^[46] The cases of Hoàng Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) in 2018 with VPMilk and in 2022 with Red Bull are typical examples of this exception.

However, ahead of the 2023 season, when VPF announced to HAGL that the team's new sponsor (Carabao Corporation) was in conflict of interest with the league's main sponsor and requested the team not to use the images of the new sponsor within the scope of the tournament, controversy ensued.^[47] VPF's regulations were met with fierce backlash from fans who were accused of making it difficult for clubs, hindering the development of Vietnamese football.^[48] HAGL also said that VPF's decision was "completely unreasonable and did not create conditions for the club to develop," and threatened to withdraw from V.League if VPF did not allow them to advertise for the new sponsor.^[49]

Television rights

Television rights have been one of the most pressing issues in the top-tier club competition in Vietnam for many years. The first time V.League "sold" television rights was in the 2005 season.^[50] However, the value of the contract signed between VFF and the television stations at that time was not really significant.^[51] In order for a match to be broadcast live, VFF and the clubs had to pay a fee and even cover the cost of accommodation, travel, and allowances for the television station.^[52]

At the end of 2010, the V.League broadcasting rights were sold by VFF to An Vien Television (AVG) for 20 years, with a price of VND 6 billion for the first year and then a 10% annual increase. However, after the establishment of VPF, this company took back the V.League broadcasting rights contract from AVG and committed to exploiting at least VND 50 billion per year from the broadcasting rights. However, the deal fell through at the last minute after bầu Kiên was arrested.^[53]

In October 2022, VPF reached a television rights agreement with FPT Telecom for 5 seasons, from the 2023 season to the 2026–27 season.^[54] The agreement ensures that each year, FPT Telecom will pay 2.5 million USD for one season, 20 times higher than the previous contract, and on average, each club will receive several billion dong in television rights in one season.^[55]

Clubs

2023 season

Hanoi

Hanoi teams
Hanoi
Thể Công-Viettel
CAHN

Locations of the 2023 V.League 1 teams

Fourteen clubs compete in the V.League 1's, with two coming from the V.League 2's previous season:

2022 club	City/District	Province/ Municipality	Stadium	Capacity	2022 position	V.League titles	Top division titles	Last title
Becamex Binh Duong	Thủ Dầu Một	Binh Duong	Gò Đậu Stadium	18,250	7th	4	4	2015
CAHN	Đống Đa	Hanoi	Hàng Đẫy Stadium	25,000	1st(VL2)	2	2	2023
Dong A Thanh Hoa	Thanh Hoa	Thanh Hoa	Thanh Hóa Stadium	14,000	8th	0	0	–
Haiphong	Ngô Quyền	Haiphong	Lạch Tray Stadium	32,000	2nd	0	10	1970
Hanoi^b	Đống Đa	Hanoi	Hàng Đẫy Stadium	25,000	1st	6	6	2022
Ho Chi Minh City^a	District 10	Ho Chi Minh City	Thống Nhất Stadium	25,000	9th	4	5	2001–02
Hong Linh Ha Tinh^b	Ha Tinh	Ha Tinh	Hà Tĩnh Stadium	22,000	11th	0	0	–
Khanh Hoa	Nha Trang	Khanh Hoa	Nha Trang Stadium	18,000	2nd(VL2)	0	0	-
Quang Nam	Tam Kỳ	Quang Nam	Tam Kỳ Stadium	15,000	1st(VL2	1	1	2017
Song Lam Nghe An^b	Vinh	Nghe An	Vinh Stadium	18,000	5th	2	2	2011
Nam Dinh	Nam Dinh	Nam Dinh	Thiên Trường Stadium	30,000	12 th	0	0	1985
Binh Dinh^a	Quy Nhơn	Binh Dinh	Quy Nhơn Stadium	25,000	3rd	0	0	–
The Cong-Viettel^a	Đống Đa	Hanoi	Hàng Đẫy Stadium	25,000	4th	6	19	2020

^a Founding member of the V.League 1
^b Never been relegated from the V.League 1

Players

Rules on foreign players

Clubs are allowed to register three foreign players per season.^[56] In prior seasons, clubs were allowed to register only two foreign players.

From 2015 season, the number of foreign players allowed for clubs was reduced to 2 players plus 1 naturalised player.

From 2019 season, the rules on foreign players changed again. The number of foreign players allowed for clubs are 3 players and 1 naturalised player.^[57]

Top scorers by season

Season^[9]	Name	Club	Goals
1980	Lê Văn Đặng	Công an Hà Nội	10
1981–1982	Võ Thành Sơn	Sở Công Nghiệp	15
1982–1983	Nguyễn Cao Cường	Thể Công	22
1984	Nguyễn Văn Dũng	Nam Định	15
1985	Nguyễn Văn Dũng	Nam Định	15
1986	Nguyễn Văn Dũng Nguyễn Minh Huy	Nam Định Hải Quan	12
1987–1988	Lưu Tấn Liêm	Hải Quan	15
1989	Hà Vương Ngầu Nại	Cảng Sài Gòn	10
1990	Nguyễn Hồng Sơn	Thể Công	10
1991	Hà Vương Ngầu Nại	Cảng Sài Gòn	10
1992	Trần Minh Toàn	Quảng Nam-Đà Nẵng	6
1993–1994	Nguyễn Công Long Bùi Sĩ Thành	Bình Định Long An	12
1995	Trần Minh Chiến	Công an Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh	14
1996	Lê Huỳnh Đức	Công an Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh	25
1997	Lê Huỳnh Đức	Công an Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh	16
1998	Nguyễn Văn Dũng	Nam Định	17
1999 Unofficial	Vũ Minh Hiếu	Công an Hà Nội	8
1999–2000	Văn Sỹ Thủy	Sông Lam Nghệ An	14
2000–2001	Đặng Đạo	Khánh Hòa	11
2001–2002	Hồ Văn Lợi	Cảng Sài Gòn	9
2003	Emeka Achilefu	Nam Định	11
2004	Amaobi Uzowuru	Nam Định	15
2005	Huỳnh Kesley Alves	Becamex Bình Dương	21
2006	Elenildo de Jesus	Thép Miền Nam Cảng Sài Gòn	18
2007	Jose Emidio de Almeida	SHB Đà Nẵng	16
2008	Jose Emidio de Almeida	SHB Đà Nẵng	23
2009	Gastón Merlo Lazaro de Souza	SHB Đà Nẵng Quân khu 4	15
2010	Gastón Merlo	SHB Đà Nẵng	19
2011	Gastón Merlo	SHB Đà Nẵng	22
2012	Timothy Anjembe	Hà Nội ACB	17
2013	Gonzalo Marronkle Hoàng Vũ Samson	Hà Nội	14
2014	Hoàng Vũ Samson	Hà Nội	23
2015	Patiyo Tambwe	QNK Quảng Nam	18
2016	Gastón Merlo	SHB Đà Nẵng	24
2017	Nguyễn Anh Đức	Becamex Bình Dương	17
2018	Oseni Ganiyu	Hà Nội	17
2019	Pape Omar Faye Bruno Cantanhede	Hà Nội Viettel	15
2020	Rimario Gordon Pedro Paulo	Hà Nội Sài Gòn	12
2022	Rimario Gordon	Hải Phòng	17
2023	Rafaelson	Bình Định	16

Since the 2000 season, when foreign players could play in the league, the top goalscorers have always been foreign players (except Nguyễn Anh Đức from Becamex Bình Dương in 2017 season)

Awards

The V.League Awards is an award given annually by the Vietnam Professional Football Jointstock Company for the best players, head coaches, and referees of the league. Since 2012, the awards are given in a ceremony at the end of the league season.^[58]^[59]

Statistics

List of champions

The following is a historical list of champions and runners-up of the V.League 1 by season. Superscripts in brackets (such as ⁽²⁾) indicate a repeat win.

Season	Champion	Runner-up	Third place
A1 Nation League
1980	Tổng Cục Đường Sắt	Công An Hà Nội	Hải Quan
1981–82	Quân đội ⁽¹⁾	Quân Khu Thủ đô	Công An Hà Nội
1982–83	Quân đội ⁽²⁾	Hải Quan	Cảng Hải Phòng
1984	Công An Hà Nội	Thể Công	Sở Công Nghiệp Trà Vinh
1985	Công nghiệp Hà Nam Ninh	Sở Công Nghiệp Trà Vinh	Cảng Sài Gòn
1986	Cảng Sài Gòn	Thể Công	Hải Quan
1987–88	Quân đội ⁽³⁾	Công Nhân Quảng Nam Đà Nẵng	An Giang
1989	Đồng Tháp	Thể Công	Công An Hà Nội
1990	Thể Công ⁽⁴⁾	Công Nhân Quảng Nam Đà Nẵng	Hải Quan
1991	Hải Quan	Công Nhân Quảng Nam Đà Nẵng	Cảng Sài Gòn
1992	Quảng Nam-Đà Nẵng	Công An Hải Phòng	Thể Công
1993–94	Cảng Sài Gòn ⁽²⁾	Công An Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh	Thể Công
1995	Công an Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh	Huế	Cảng Sài Gòn
1996	Đồng Tháp ⁽²⁾	Công An Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh	Sông Lam Nghệ An
1997	Cảng Sài Gòn ⁽³⁾	Sông Lam Nghệ An	Thể Công
1998	Thể Công ⁽⁵⁾	Sông Lam Nghệ An	Công An Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh
1999–2000	Sông Lam Nghệ An	Công An Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh	Công An Hà Nội
V-League
2000–01	Sông Lam Nghệ An ⁽²⁾	Đạm Phú Mỹ Nam Định	Thể Công
2001–02	Cảng Sài Gòn ⁽⁴⁾	Công An Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh	Sông Lam Nghệ An
2003	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai	Gạch Đồng Tâm Long An	Đạm Phú Mỹ Nam Định
2004	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai ⁽²⁾	Đạm Phú Mỹ Nam Định	Gạch Đồng Tâm Long An
2005	Gạch Đồng Tâm Long An	SHB Đà Nẵng	Becamex Bình Dương
2006	Gạch Đồng Tâm Long An ⁽²⁾	Becamex Bình Dương	Boss Bình Định
2007	Becamex Bình Dương	Gạch Đồng Tâm Long An	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai
2008	Becamex Bình Dương ⁽²⁾	Gạch Đồng Tâm Long An	Xi Măng Hải Phòng
2009	SHB Đà Nẵng ⁽²⁾	Becamex Bình Dương	Sông Lam Nghệ An
2010	Hà Nội T&T	Xi Măng Hải Phòng	TĐCS Đồng Tháp
2011	Sông Lam Nghệ An ⁽³⁾	Hà Nội	SHB Đà Nẵng
2012	SHB Đà Nẵng ⁽³⁾	Hà Nội	Sài Gòn Xuân Thành
V.League 1
2013	Hà Nội T&T ⁽²⁾	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai	SHB Đà Nẵng
2014	Becamex Bình Dương ⁽³⁾	Hà Nội T&T	FLC Thanh Hóa
2015	Becamex Bình Dương ⁽⁴⁾	Hà Nội T&T	FLC Thanh Hóa
2016	Hà Nội T&T ⁽³⁾	Hải Phòng	SHB Đà Nẵng
2017	Quảng Nam	FLC Thanh Hóa	Hà Nội
2018	Hà Nội ⁽⁴⁾	FLC Thanh Hóa	Sanna Khánh Hòa BVN
2019	Hà Nội ⁽⁵⁾	Hồ Chí Minh City	Than Quảng Ninh
2020	Viettel ⁽⁶⁾	Hà Nội	Sài Gòn
2021	Competition abandoned due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022	Hà Nội ⁽⁶⁾	Hải Phòng	Topenland Bình Định
2023	Công An Hà Nội ⁽²⁾	Hà Nội	Viettel

Seasons

The rankings of the V.League 1 teams in the 1980-1996 seasons are not official, because those seasons have not been organized in a round-robin format but are divided into several stages. In these seasons, the ranking of each team is arranged as follows:
1. Any team that enters the next stage is ranked above the teams that only stopped at the previous stage.
2. In the same period of any season, the rankings of the teams are arranged according to the rules and regulations of that season.

From the 1997 season, the rankings of the teams are official.

As there is no record of the group stage results for the 1990 and 1992 seasons, the rankings of some of the teams in these two seasons are uncertain.

Position
Champion
Runner-up
Third place
Exceptional clubs
The team drops out or is eliminated
The team buys and sells relegation spots
Relegation
Relegated by two levels

Season	80	81/2	82/3	84	85	86	87/88	89	90	91	92	93/4	95	96	97	98	99/0	00/1	01/2	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Team	17	17	17	18	18	20	27	32	18	19	18	16	14	12	12	14	14	10	10	12	12	12	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	12	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	13
Viettel		1	1	2	3	2	1	2	1	9	3	3	9	10	4	1	10	3	7	6	11				8	9										6	1		4
Hà Nội																										4	1	2	2	1	2	2	1	3	1	1	2		1
Bình Dương												12	11			13					6	3	2	1	1	2	8	6	6	8	1	1	10	11	7	4	6		7
Ho Chi Minh City FC	6	13	4	11	5	1	6	6	5-8	4	9-14	1	3	8	1	5	4	4	1	11		8	10	8	5	13								12	12	2	5		9
Đà Nẵng				13	15	8	2	18	2	2	1	7	14				11		6	10	9	2	7	5	4	1	6	3	1	2	4	9	3	9	9	10	9		10
Sông Lam Nghệ An						17	21	17	15-17	15	4	10	8	3	2	2	1	1	2	5	4	5	5	7	9	3	9	1	4	4	5	7	9	8	4	7	10		5
Hoàng Anh Gia Lai																				1	1	4	4	3	7	6	7	9	5	3	9	13	12	10	10	8	7		6
Nam Định			13	5	1	5	17									10	6	2	5	3	2	6	9	4	11	12	14								13	11	13		12
Hải Phòng						15	11	13	9-14	3	2	13			8	8	8	6	10		10	7	12		3	7	2	12	14	6	10	6	2	7	6	12	12		2
Thanh Hóa																								9	10	14	12	7	11	5	3	3	6	2	2	13	11		8
Bình Định	10	14	9	9	11	13	9	15	9-14	10	9-14	5	13			14			4	4	7	10	3	6	12														3
Than Quảng Ninh		5	11	14	13	7	16	22		18																					6	4	4	4	5	3	4
Sài Gòn																																	7	5	8	5	3		13
Hà Tĩnh																																					8		11
Quảng Nam																															8	8	5	1	11	9	14
Khánh Hòa	14	12	12	16	14	12	4	21			15-18		5	5	9	9	9	10					6	10	6	8	4	11	12			5	8	6	3	14
Cần Thơ														11																		11	11	13	14
Long An							26	5	5-8	16	9-14	4	12			12	12			2	3	1	1	2	2	10	5	13		9	11	10	13	14
An Giang	15		15	17			3	8	3	5	9-14	9	4	6	11																12
Huế													2	12			7	8	9					13
Đồng Tháp	16							1	5-8	13	5	8	6	1	7	7	5	9		7	8	12		14		5	3	5	13			12	14
Đồng Nai								19																						7	7	14
Tiền Giang	17						18	14	15-17	8	8	14											13
Lâm Đồng					9	10	5	16	9-14	14	9-14	11	7	4	3	6	13
Vĩnh Long															12		14
Ninh Bình						6	12	20		6	6	2	1	2	5	3	2	5	3	9	12						11	4	8	10	13
Kiên Giang																													10	11
Sài Gòn Xuân Thành																													3	12
Navibank Sài Gòn																										11	13	8	7
Hà Nội ACB	1	10	5	4	18		22	11	5-8	12	9-14	15								12	5	11	8	11	13			14	9
Hòa Phát Hà Nội																						9	11	12	14		10	10
Công an Hà Nội	2	3	14	1	4	14	10	3	9-14	11	15-18			9	10	4	3	7	8	8
Hải Quan	3	8	2	10	6	3	8	10	4	1	7	6	10	7	6	11
Công an Thanh Hóa						18	23	9	9-14	17		16
Dệt Nam Định				18			14	7	18		15-18
Quân khu 5											15-18
Điện Hải Phòng							24	4	9-14	7
Thanh niên Hà Nội										19
CN Xây dựng Hà Nội		15	6	8	17		13	12	15-17
Công an Hà Bắc								23
Cảng Hải Phòng	9	11	3	7	7	11	20	24
Quân khu 3	4	6	16	12	8	20	25	25
CA Quảng Nam Đà Nẵng							19	26
Quân khu Thủ đô	7	2	10	15	10	16	15	27
Quân khu 7								28
Gò Dầu								29
Hải Hưng								30
Vĩnh Phú								31
Sở Công nghiệp TPHCM	8	4	7	3	2	4	7	32
Phòng không Không quân	5	7	8	6	12	9	27
Công nghiệp Thực phẩm	11	16			16	19
Tây Ninh	13	9	17
CN Xây Dựng Hải Phòng	12	17

Key
Currently in the V.League 1
Currently in the V.League 2
Currently in the V.League 3
Dissolved

^[60]

All-time table

Figures as of 14 January 2021, primary source: http://www.rsssf.com/tablesv/vietchamp.html

This is the following is a V.League 1 table of statistics of seasons, number of matches and results of each team in all 38 national championship football seasons.

Match figures and match results excluding the 2021 season have not been completed and the seasons are not recorded, namely the 1990 and 1992 group stages; second round of the 1995 season; two games in the group stage of the 1996 season.

The total number of matches recorded is 5236 of which there are 3,824 wins and losses and 1412 draws. The total number of goals is 13783, the average number of goals in a match is: 2.63.

Detailed results

Key

	Currently in the V.League 1
	Founding members currently in the V.League 1
	Founding members of the V.League 1

Rank	Club	Years	Cons. Seasons	Matches played	Win	Draw	Lost	Goals For	Goals Against	Points^[61]
1	Sông Lam Nghệ An	Sông Lam Nghệ Tĩnh (1986–1991) Sông Lam Nghệ An (1992–2003) Pjico Sông Lam Nghệ An (2004–2006) Tài chính Dầu khí Sông Lam Nghệ An (2007–2008) Sông Lam Nghệ An (2009–2022)	34	665	267	199	199	942	754	1000
2	Đà Nẵng	Quảng Nam-Đà Nẵng (1984–1995) Đà Nẵng (1999/00, 2001/02-2007) SHB Đà Nẵng (2008–2022)	32	610	246	164	200	871	756	902
3	Ho Chi Minh City FC	Cảng Sài Gòn (1980–2003) Thép Miền Nam Cảng Sài Gòn (2005–2008) Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh (2009, 2017–2022)	31	564	227	152	185	782	691	833
4	Hải Phòng	Công an Hải Phòng (1986-1993/94, 1997-2001/02) Thép Việt-Úc Hải Phòng (2004) Mitsustar Hải Phòng (2005) Mitsustar Haier Hải Phòng (2006) Xi măng Hải Phòng (2008–2010) Vicem Hải Phòng (2011–2012) Xi măng Vicem Hải Phòng (2013)^[62] Hải Phòng (2014–2022)	30	589	213	144	232	752	791	783
5	Viettel	CLB Quân đội (1981/82-1998) Thể Công (1999/00-2004) Thể Công-Viettel (2008 ^{vòng 1–19})^[63] Thể Công (2008 ^{vòng 20–26} −2009) Viettel (2019–2022)	26	465	214	115	136	617	490	755
6	Khánh Hòa	Phú Khánh (1980–1989) Khánh Hòa (1992, 1995-2000/01) Khatoco Khánh Hòa (2006–2012) Sanna Khánh Hòa BVN (2015–2019)	27	554	199	140	215	661	717	737
7	Bình Dương	Sông Bé (1993/94-1995) Bình Dương (1998, 2004–2006) Becamex Bình Dương (2007–2022)	22	485	196	133	156	733	622	721
8	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai (2003–2022)	20	462	179	110	173	677	663	647
9	Hà Nội	T&T Hà Nội (2009) Hà Nội T&T (2009-2016) Hanoi FC (2017–2021)	14	320	178	78	64	651	376	612
10	Nam Định	Công nghiệp Hà Nam Ninh (1982/83-1987) Nam Định (1998–2003;2018;2021-2022) Sông Đà Nam Định (2004–2005) Gạch men Mikado Nam Định (2006;2009) Đạm Phú Mỹ Nam Định (2007–2008) Megastar Nam Định (2010) Dược Nam Hà Nam Định (2019-2020) Thép Xanh Nam Định (2023)	22	452	160	112	180	532	592	592
11	Long An	Long An (1987–1995, 1998-1999/00) Gạch Đồng Tâm Long An (2003–2006) Đồng Tâm Long An (2007–2011, 2013–2015) Long An (2016–2017)	23	456	158	113	185	647	711	587
12	Đồng Tháp	Đồng Tháp (1980, 1989-2000/01, 2003) Delta Đồng Tháp (2004–2005) Đồng Tháp (2007) Tập đoàn Cao su Đồng Tháp (2009–2012) Đồng Tháp (2015–2016)	22	423	136	114	173	495	588	522
13	Ninh Bình	Công an TP. Hồ Chí Minh (1986–1989, 1991-2001/02 ^{vòng 1–11}) Ngân hàng Đông Á (2001/02 ^{vòng 12–18} -2003)^[64] Ngân hàng Đông Á Thép Pomina (2004) Xi măng The Vissai Ninh Bình (2010–2014)^[65]	20	364	140	89	135	523	480	509
14	Thanh Hóa	Halida Thanh Hóa (2007–2008 ^{vòng 1–13})^[66] Xi măng Công Thanh-Thanh Hóa (2008 ^{vòng 14–26} – 2009 ^{vòng 1–17}) Thanh Hóa (2009 ^{vòng 18–26})^[67] Lam Sơn Thanh Hóa (2010) Thanh Hóa (2011–2015 ^{vòng 1–12}) FLC Thanh Hóa (2015 ^{vòng 13–26} – 2018)^[68] Thanh Hóa (2019–2020) Đông Á Thanh Hóa (2021)	15	346	130	93	123	500	538	483
15	Công An Hà Nội	Công an Hà Nội (1980–1992, 1996-2001/02) Hàng không Việt Nam (2003)	18	290	113	90	87	366	311	429
16	Bình Định	Công nhân Nghĩa Bình (1980–1989) Bình Định (1990–1995, 1998, 2001/02-2004) Hoa Lâm Bình Định (2005) Pisico Bình Định (2006–2007) Boss Bình Định (2008) Topenland Bình Định (2021)	22	333	104	93	136	354	443	405
17	Than Quảng Ninh	Than Quảng Ninh (1981/82-1989) Công nhân Quảng Ninh (1991) Than Quảng Ninh (2014–2021)	16	281	108	80	93	389	346	404
18	Hải Quan	Hải Quan (1980–1998)	16	241	108	57	76	335	267	381
19	Hà Nội ACB	Tổng cục Đường sắt (1980–1985, 1987–1989) Đường sắt Việt Nam (1990-1993/94) LG ACB (2003) LG Hà Nội ACB (2004–2006 ^{vòng 1–13})^[69] Hà Nội ACB (2006 ^{vòng 14–24}-2008, 2011) CLB Bóng đá Hà Nội (2012)^[70]	19	323	94	89	140	376	467	371
20	Lâm Đồng	Lâm Đồng (1985-1999/00)	13	192	72	40	80	234	261	256
21	Quảng Nam	QNK Quảng Nam (2014–2016) Quảng Nam (2017–2020)	7	170	60	54	56	282	283	234
22	An Giang	An Giang (1980, 1982/83-1984, 1987–1997) Hùng Vương An Giang (2014)	13	176	65	38	73	210	239	233
23	Sở Công nghiệp TP. Hồ Chí Minh	Sở Công nghiệp Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh (1980–1989)	8	130	53	39	38	176	168	198
24	Sài Gòn	CLB Hà Nội (2016 ^{vòng 1–5})^[71] CLB Sài Gòn (2016 ^{vòng 6–26} – 2021)	6	124	48	36	40	179	162	180
25	Hòa Phát Hà Nội	Hòa Phát Hà Nội (2005–2008, 2010–2011)	6	150	41	42	67	185	239	165
26	Cảng Hải Phòng	Cảng Hải Phòng (1980–1989)	8	115	34	44	37	122	123	146
27	Huế	Thừa Thiên-Huế (1995–1996, 1999/00-2001/02) Huda Huế (2007)	6	121	34	30	57	121	166	132
28	Quân khu Thủ đô	Quân khu Thủ đô (1980–1989)	8	105	30	37	38	109	120	127
29	Navibank Sài Gòn	Quân khu 4 (2009) Navibank Sài Gòn (2010–2012)^[72]	4	104	31	29	44	125	151	122
30	Quân khu 3	Quân khu 3 (1980–1989)	8	110	28	37	45	101	129	121
31	Cần Thơ	Cần Thơ (1996) Xổ số Kiến thiết Cần Thơ (2015–2018)	5	126	27	39	60	146	208	120
32	Phòng không Không quân	Phòng không Không quân (1980–1987)	7	104	29	33	42	110	152	120
33	Công nhân Xây dựng Hà Nội	Công nhân Xây dựng Hà Nội (1981/82-1985, 1987–1990)	7	96	28	33	35	93	108	117
34	Đồng Nai	Đồng Nai (1989, 2013–2015)	4	83	23	19	41	117	143	88
35	Tiền Giang	Tiền Giang (1980, 1987-1993/94) Thép Pomina Tiền Giang (2006)	8	88	19	24	45	76	125	81
36	Điện Hải Phòng	Điện Hải Phòng (1987–1991)	4	47	14	18	15	36	41	60
37	Dệt Nam Định	Dệt Nam Định (1984, 1987–1990, 1992)	5	43	15	13	15	50	55	58
38	Công nghiệp Thực phẩm	Công nghiệp Thực phẩm (1980) Lương thực Thực phẩm (1981/82) Công nghiệp Thực phẩm (1985–1986)	4	53	12	18	23	62	74	54
39	Công an Thanh Hóa	Công an Thanh Hóa (1986–1991, 1993/94)	6	63	13	13	37	58	104	52
40	Kiên Giang	Kienlongbank Kiên Giang (2012–2013)	2	46	12	10	24	54	91	46
41	Sài Gòn Xuân Thành	CLB Bóng đá Sài Gòn (2012 ^{vòng 1–17})^[73] Sài Gòn Xuân Thành (2012 ^{vòng 18–26}) Xi măng Xuân Thành Sài Gòn (2013)	2	26	12	10	4	43	23	46
42	Tây Ninh	Tây Ninh (1980-1982/83)	3	43	8	12	23	41	71	36
43	Công an Quảng Nam-Đà Nẵng	Công an Quảng Nam-Đà Nẵng (1987–1989)	2	26	6	12	8	25	30	30
44	Công nhân Xây dựng Hải Phòng	Công nhân Xây dựng Hải Phòng (1980-1981/82)	2	22	6	6	10	13	22	24
45	Vĩnh Long	Vĩnh Long (1997, 1999/00)	2	22	3	12	7	18	26	21
46	Hà Tĩnh	Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh (2020–2021)	2	20	4	8	8	19	24	20
47	Công an Hà Bắc	Công an Hà Bắc (1989)	1	10	3	3	4	11	11	12
48	Quân khu 7	Quân khu 7 (1989)	1	10	2	3	5	10	14	9
49	Gò Dầu	Gò Dầu (1989)	1	10	2	1	7	5	15	7
50	Thanh niên Hà Nội	Thanh niên Hà Nội (1991)	1	10	1	2	7	5	14	5
51	Hải Hưng	Hải Hưng (1989)	1	10	0	3	7	1	20	3
52	Vĩnh Phú	Công nghiệp Việt Trì Vĩnh Phú (1989)	1	10	0	2	8	7	24	2
53	Quân khu 5	Quân khu 5 (1992)	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Top-performing clubs

No. of championships^[74]	Clubs
6	Viettel, Hà Nội
4	Becamex Bình Dương, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh
3	SHB Đà Nẵng, Sông Lam Nghệ An
2	Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, Long An, Đồng Tháp
1	Hải Quan, Nam Định, Tổng cục Đường sắt, Công an Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Quảng Nam, Công an Hà Nội

Boldface indicates clubs playing in 2021 season

All-time appearances

**Top ten players with most appearances**
Player		Period	Club(s)	Games
1	Lê Tấn Tài	2003–2022	Sanna Khánh Hòa BVN 217, Hải Phòng 11, Becamex Bình Dương 155, Hồng Lĩnh Hà Tĩnh 6, Hà Nội 16, Khánh Hoà 19	434
2	Nguyễn Thế Anh	1965–1984	Thể Công 412	412
3	Nguyễn Hồng Sơn	1988–2005	Thể Công 401	430
4	Đặng Phương Nam	1992–2007	Thể Công 388	388
5	Phan Văn Tài Em	2002–2011	Long An 305, Navibank Sài Gòn 44, Xuân Thành Sài Gòn 27	376
6	Nguyễn Anh Đức	2006–2022	Đông Á Bank 9, Becamex Bình Dương 355, Hoàng Anh Gia Lai 3, Long An 5	367
7	Nguyễn Cao Cường	1973–1990	Thể Công 332	332
8	Phạm Thành Lương	2005–2023	Hà Nội ACB 144, Hà Nội 186	330
9	Dương Hồng Sơn	1998–2015	Sông Lam Nghệ An 206, Hà Nội 95	301
10	Nguyễn Minh Phương	1998–2015	Cảng Sài Gòn 95, Long An 171, SHB Đà Nẵng 38,	294
–	Nguyễn Minh Châu	2003–2017	Hải Phòng 294	294

Boldface indicates a player still active in the V.League 1.

All-time top scorers

Player		Period	Clubs (mostly known as)	Goals
1	Hoàng Vũ Samson	2007–	Đồng Tháp, Hà Nội, Quảng Nam, Thanh Hóa, Ho Chi Minh City	202
2	Đỗ Merlo	2009–	SHB Đà Nẵng, Nam Định, Sài Gòn	157
3	Nguyễn Văn Dũng	1983–1999	Nam Định, Sông Lam Nghệ An, Thanh Hóa	130
4	Nguyễn Anh Đức	2006–2022	Đông Á Bank, Becamex Bình Dương, Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, Long An	127
5	Nguyễn Cao Cường	1973–1990	Thể Công	127
6	Lê Công Vinh	2004–2016	Sông Lam Nghệ An, Hà Nội T&T, Hà Nội ACB, Becamex Bình Dương	116
7	Huỳnh Kesley Alves	2003–2019	Becamex Bình Dương, Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, Sài Gòn Xuân Thành, Sanna Khánh Hòa BVN, Hồ Chí Minh City	113
8	Nguyễn Văn Quyết	2011–	Hà Nội	94
-	Antonio Carlos	2003–2015	Long An	94
9	Gonzalo Marronkle	2009–2017	Hà Nội	81
10	Lê Huỳnh Đức	1995–2007	Hồ Chí Minh City Police, SHB Đà Nẵng	79
-	Timothy Anjembe	2009–2015	Hòa Phát Hà Nội, Hà Nội ACB, Hoàng Anh Gia Lai, Thanh Hóa	79