Ho Chi Minh City, 6 November 2025 – Saigon Giai Phong Newspaper officially launched the Vietnam Golden Ball 2025 award on the morning of November 6, celebrating its 30th anniversary with several innovations — including a new fan-voted category and a meaningful charity initiative supporting underprivileged children in remote areas.
Vietnam Golden Ball 2025 was officially announced at a press conference held by Saigon Giai Phong Newspaper in Ho Chi Minh City. Now entering its 30th year, the nation’s most prestigious individual football award promises exciting changes while maintaining its traditional prestige and integrity in recognizing the best footballers across the country.
Speaking at the event, journalist Nguyen Khac Van, Acting Editor-in-Chief of Saigon Giai Phong Newspaper and Head of the Organizing Committee, emphasized: “The Vietnam Golden Ball is an honorable and highly respected award that every player dreams of achieving. It represents the pinnacle of dedication and excellence, voted on by reputable experts and journalists nationwide.”
This year’s edition introduces a new category — “Fans’ Favorite Player”, which allows supporters to vote online through an interactive platform. Additionally, the organizers will present 30 special gifts to fans who correctly predict the award winners.
A major highlight of the 2025 program is the launch of the humanitarian campaign “Warm Coats to School”, aimed at providing one million winter coats for children in remote, mountainous, and disadvantaged regions across Vietnam. The initiative will officially kick off at the Golden Ball awards ceremony this December, with this year’s Golden Ball winners — in the men’s, women’s, and futsal categories — serving as goodwill ambassadors.
“We will make ‘Warm Coats to School’ an annual program linked to the Golden Ball,” said journalist Nguyen Khac Van. “Every year, the new Golden Ball winners will continue to act as ambassadors to spread kindness and humanity through this meaningful initiative.”
Tran Anh Tu, Vice President of the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF), praised the award’s legacy and noted that 2025 had been an outstanding year for Vietnamese football — with national triumphs at the 2024 ASEAN Cup, the 2025 U23 Southeast Asian Championship, and qualifications for multiple continental tournaments across men’s, women’s, and futsal disciplines. He expressed hope that the voting process would remain objective and transparent, honoring players based solely on performance and contribution.
Former national striker Tran Minh Chien, remembered for his iconic “Golden Goal” at the 1995 SEA Games, shared his emotional connection with the award despite never winning it himself due to an early retirement caused by injury. “This is a prize that recognizes not just talent but the long journey of dedication each player goes through,” Chien said. “The 2025 selection will be extremely competitive, especially with several key tournaments still ahead.”
The Vietnam Golden Ball 2025 will feature 14 award categories, including the men’s, women’s, and futsal Golden, Silver, and Bronze Balls; Best Foreign Player; Best Young Male and Female Players; the Dedication Award; and the newly introduced Fans’ Favorite Player Award.
In November, the Organizing Committee will distribute ballots and candidate lists to journalists, football experts, national team coaches, V.League 1 captains, women’s clubs, and futsal teams nationwide.
The Vietnam Golden Ball 2025 Awards Ceremony is scheduled to take place in December 2025 in Ho Chi Minh City. Last year’s winners were Nguyen Tien Linh (Men’s Golden Ball), Tran Thi Thuy Trang (Women’s Golden Ball), and Nguyen Thinh Phat (Futsal Golden Ball).
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