Truong Tuoi Dong Nai to face Quang Ninh in the opening round of the National First Division Football Championship

According to the draw results for the National First Division Football Championship Tournament, the current runner-up Truong Tuoi Dong Nai will face Quang Ninh in an away match at Cam Pha stadium in the opening round.

Draw conducted for the 2025-2026 National First Division Football schedule. Photo: VPF

On August 11 in Hanoi, the Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF) held the draw ceremony and scheduled matches for the 2025–2026 season of National First Division Football Championship and National Cup.

The 2025–2026 National First Division Football Championship features 13 professional teams, kicking off on September 19, 2025, and concluding on June 20, 2026. Each team is allowed to register a maximum of one foreign player, one Vietnamese player of foreign origin, and two foreign players of Vietnamese origin.

The teams will play a double round-robin format (home and away) with points determining the standings. The season will comprise 26 rounds with a total of 156 matches. At the end of the season, the top two teams will earn promotion to National Premier League (V.League 1 – 2026-2027), while the bottom two teams will be relegated to the Football League Second Division the following season.

The top three teams will receive awards: the champion will be awarded a trophy, gold medals, and VND 2 billion in prize money; the runner-up will receive silver medals and VND 1 billion; and the third-place team will get bronze medals and VND 500 million.

Draw results for round 1 of the 2025–2026 National First Division. Photo: VPF

According to the draw, the current runner-up Truong Tuoi Dong Nai will have to face Quang Ninh in an away match at Cam Pha Stadium in the opening round. The team of Cong Phuong - the top contender for the championship - is expected to face challenges against Quang Ninh with experienced squad and “Cam Pha fire pan” home advantage.

Meanwhile, 2025–2026 National Cup will bring together 26 professional clubs nationwide, including 14 from V.League 1 and 12 from the National First Division. The tournament is scheduled to kick off on September 13, 2025, with the final taking place on June 28, 2026. The National Cup champion will receive a prize worth VND 2 billion.

Attractive competition right from the very first round of National Cup. Photo: VPF

The draw for 2025–2026 National Cup has created an exciting bracket as three championship contenders: CAHN, Hanoi FC, and The Cong Viettel have been drawn into the same bracket. For the first time in history, three of the top four V.League teams will be in the same section of the National Cup qualifiers. Specifically, Hanoi FC will face The Cong Viettel in the preliminary round, with the winner meeting CAHN in the round of 16. This means that only one of the three including Hanoi, CAHN, or The Cong Viettel will make it to the quarterfinals.

In the other bracket, the strong teams have drawn more manageable opponents. Truong Tuoi Dong Nai will face Becamex Ho Chi Minh city in the preliminary round, with the winner meeting the victor of the Hong Linh Ha Tinh – Quang Ninh match in the next round.

In the round of 16, Nam Dinh will play against the winner of the Long An/Binh Dinh match; the current runner-up SLNA will meet the winner of the Da Nang/Young Ho Chi Minh city match; Police Ho Chi Minh City FC (receiving a bye) will face either Ho Chi Minh City FC or Dong Thap; and PVF-CAND (also receiving a bye) will clash with the winner between Thanh Hoa and HAGL.

To enhance the quality and image of the tournaments, VPF will continue implementing VAR technology in select rounds and key matches of both the 2025–2026 National First Division Football Championship and the National Cup.

By: Anh Tam
Translated by: Thu Hien - Thu Ha