V.League 2
Association football league in Vietnam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Vietnamese National Football First League (Vietnamese: Giải bóng đá hạng Nhất Quốc gia, lit. 'National First Division Football League'), known simply as the V.League 2 and for sponsorship purposes as the Gold Star V.League 2, is the second-highest league of the Vietnamese football league system after the V.League 1, and is currently contested by 14 clubs. The current holders are Phu Dong Ninh Binh, who won the 2024–25 season.
- 1996–2000 (as Second Division)
- 1990–1996 (as A1 League)
- 1980–1989 (as A2 League)
| |
| Founded | 2000
|
|---|---|
| Country | Vietnam |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of clubs | 14 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | V.League 1 |
| Relegation to | Second Division |
| Domestic cup(s) | Vietnamese Cup Vietnamese Super Cup |
| International cup | AFC Champions League Two (via Vietnamese Cup) |
| Current champions | Phu Dong Ninh Binh (1st title) |
| Most championships | Binh Dinh Dong Thap Long An Ho Chi Minh City Quang Nam (2 titles cach) |
| Broadcaster(s) | FPT Play |
| Website | vpf |
| Current: 2025–26 V.League 2 | |
League structure
Starting in the 2025–26 season, the league comprises 14 teams. Over the course of a season, which runs annually from September/October to the following June/July,[1] each team plays twice against the others in the league, once at 'home' and once 'away', resulting in each team competing in 26 games in total. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and zero for a loss. The teams are ranked in the league table by points gained, then goal difference, then goals scored, and then their head-to-head record for that season (including away goals record).
At the end of the season, the top two team is promoted to the V.League 1 and the bottom two teams are relegated to Second Division.[2]
Competition format
Seasons 2000 to 2019: teams played a double round-robin format to earn points.[3] The champion team was promoted to V.League 1. The bottom 1 or 2 teams were relegated to the National Second Division.[4] This format was used again in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the last seasons to be held in a calendar year.[5]
In the 2020 season, after the first round of the round-robin, the top 6 teams played a single round-robin to find the champion, and the remaining 6 teams played a single round-robin to find the team to be relegated.[6][7] The 2021 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8][9][10] From the 2023–24 season onwards, the teams will play a double round-robin format over two years, from the autumn of the previous year to the summer of the following year.[11][12][13]
Television
On 1 November 2022, FPT Group-owned FPT Play will be the new domestic broadcaster for Vietnamese Professional Football Leagues competitions (V.League 1, V.League 2 and Vietnamese Cup) effectively from 2023 until 2027.[14]
Prize money
The prize money for the 2023–24 V.League 2:
| Position | Purse (VND) |
|---|---|
| Champion | 2,000,000,000 |
| Runner-up | 1,000,000,000 |
| Third-place | 500,000,000 |
Current members
The following 14 clubs compete in the V.League 2 during the 2025–26 season.
| Club | Finishing position last season | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bà Rịa Vũng Tàu | 10th | Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu | Bà Rịa Stadium | 10,000 |
| Bac Ninh FC | 2nd in Second Division Group A (promoted) | Thừa Thiên Huế | Tu Do Stadium | 16,000 |
| Bình Phước | 2nd | Bình Phước | Bình Phước Stadium | 10,000 |
| Đồng Nai | 9th | Đồng Nai | Đồng Nai Stadium | 30,000 |
| Đồng Tháp FC | 6th | Đồng Tháp | Đồng Tháp Stadium | 18,000 |
| Gia Dinh FC | 2nd in Second Division Group B (promoted) | Ho Chi Minh | TBD | |
| Hoa Binh FC | 7th | Hòa Bình | Hoa Binh Stadium | |
| LPBank Ho Chi Minh City | 4th | Ho chi Minh | Thống Nhất Stadium | 15,000 |
| Khatoco Khánh Hòa | 5th | Khánh Hòa | 19 August Stadium | 18,000 |
| Long An FC | 8th | Tây Ninh | Long An Stadium | 20,000 |
| PVF-CAND FC | 3rd | Hưng Yên | PVF Stadium | |
| Quang Ninh FC | 1st in Second Division Group A (promoted) | Quảng Ninh | Cẩm Phả Stadium | 20,000 |
| Quy Nhon Binh Dinh | 14th in V.League 1 (relegated) | Gia Lai | Quy Nhơn Stadium | 15,000 |
| Van Hien University | 1st in Second Division Group B (promoted) | Ho Chi Minh City | Thống Nhất Stadium | 15,000 |
