Hanoi, May 3, 2025 – The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) confirmed on May 3 its adherence to FIFA’s directive to remove Phu Tho FC from the 2025 National Second Division (V.League 3) due to match-fixing, a decision that will significantly disrupt the third-tier competition. FIFA’s May 2 announcement, reported by Reuters, detailed sanctions against Phu Tho FC and Kenya’s Muhoroni Youth, reinforcing global efforts to eradicate corruption, per VFF’s integrity policies.
FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee found Phu Tho FC guilty of manipulating matches in the 2025 Second Division, without specifying which games. The club, based at Viet Tri Stadium, is expelled from V.League 3—where teams like Becamex Binh Duong’s youth squad compete—and relegated to the Third Division (fourth tier) for 2026. VFF declared that Phu Tho FC’s results, including three losses in their opening matches (e.g., 3-0 to Than Quang Ninh on April 28, per Sofascore), are annulled. Teams scheduled to face Phu Tho FC, starting with Hanoi FC Youth on May 3, will receive byes, while other fixtures proceed as planned, per VFF’s 2025 schedule.
The expulsion reshuffles V.League 3’s 12-team format, reducing matches and affecting promotion battles, unlike the stable V.League 1 campaigns of Hanoi Police FC. Phu Tho FC, formed in 2019 with Song Lam Nghe An youth and Hanoi FC’s U21 players, ascended from the Third Division to V.League 2 by 2021 but fell to V.League 3 after a 2023-2024 V.League 2 season with one win, three draws, and 16 losses (9th in 2022, 21 points). FIFA allows an appeal, but no timeline was provided, aligning with precedents like the 2011 bans on El Salvador’s Dennis Alas.
The ruling challenges coach Ho Thanh Thuong, who led Phu Tho FC’s 2020 Second Division title, and dims Viet Tri’s 3,000-capacity stadium, a 2024 AFF Cup venue, unlike The Cong Viettel’s robust facilities. VFF’s compliance, contrasting the 2024 betting scandal’s legal actions under Penal Code Article 321, may spur stricter oversight, as seen in Nam Dinh FC’s governance. Phu Tho FC’s Third Division rebuild, below Hoang Anh Gia Lai’s youth teams, looms, while V.League 3, home to Binh Dinh FC’s reserves, adjusts to the void, underscoring FIFA’s firm stance and VFF’s commitment to clean football, mirroring Song Lam Nghe An’s ethos.
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