In addition to watching the Vietnamese National League, many Vietnamese people watch professional leagues and follow national teams. Interest in football is normally high when Vietnamese teams compete. Fans traditionally watched football on television or met at cafes to get news about the teams, and the teams’ victories and defeats were always discussed. Since the advent of mobile phones, news of the final score and short video clips of goals have appeared on the Internet almost instantly after the conclusion of a match. This has led to some subtle changes in how football fans view their favorite teams.
V.League and the Development of the Digital Game Culture
For the majority of football, this paradigm began to shift significantly in the early 2000s, as the V.League 1 developed into a more professional competition, and betting site Vietnam (Vietnam’s first online sports betting site) became an increasingly popular topic of conversation among fans on online discussion forums. With improved facilities and organizational structure, clubs from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Binh Duong have worked to address the relatively minor issues they had experienced. There has been a boom in coverage; today, there is far more information about a game available online and available for rapid download than previously existed.
Fans of football changed the way they discuss games. While the majority of online forums discussing football provided general information about the various platforms and mobile applications related to the league, fans now post live scores and statistics about individual games alongside general discussions about the platform.
All of these functions were incorporated into one digital environment. The ease of communication facilitated by the Internet, particularly the rapid adoption of smartphones in Vietnam in the 2010s, contributed greatly to fans’ ability to communicate about the league during games. Fans would often utilize their phones during games to review lineups, scores, and other brief information.
The following are some basic yet significant factors that helped to modify the way fans communicated with the league via technology:
- Availability of mobile devices: Mobile phones allowed fans to receive information during games, such as scores and short videos of goals.
- Rapid availability of information: Information is available rapidly because fans can access it immediately, including real-time data and images.
- Ease of communication: Smartphones and social media provide easy communication opportunities among fans during games.
- Accessibility of the Internet: The widespread availability of broadband internet provides fans with an abundance of resources regarding the league and its teams.
The AFF Cup and National Team Attention
Regional tournaments usually draw more attention than league matches. The AFF Cup is one of the main football events for fans in Vietnam. During the tournament, football dominates TV broadcasts and sports news for weeks.
Vietnam’s national team won the tournament in 2008 and again in 2018. The second victory had a particularly strong impact. By that time, social media was already deeply connected to sports culture in the country. Celebration, debate, and analysis spread quickly across the internet.
During the competition, activity often rises in clear stages. Before kickoff, people search for lineups and predictions. During the match, reactions appear seconds after goals or referee decisions. After the game, analysis continues on sports pages and fan groups.
Typical match-night behavior during the tournament includes:
- Checking starting lineups shortly before the game
- Posting reactions during important moments
- Sharing highlights and commentary after the final whistle
These patterns show how tightly football and online communication now work together. One often feeds the other. When interest in a match grows, online activity rises with it, and the discussion quickly spreads across different platforms.
Vietnamese Football and Growing Online Audiences
As mobile internet usage rose to become a key means of access to the MelBet App, the rapid growth of Vietnamese football also occurred. As a result, as Vietnamese Internet users increasingly used the Internet to provide themselves with entertainment, as well as to gather information on sports in general and Vietnamese football in particular, a large increase in Vietnamese football related digital content (i.e., news, statistics, etc.) became available; i.e., news, statistics, etc. on Vietnamese football matches were available online immediately after the conclusion of each match. Ultimately, this led to a significantly larger and more active Vietnamese football fan base existing online.
| Area | Early 2000s | Recent Years |
| League structure | Start of professionalism | Stable national competition |
| Match coverage | Television and newspapers | Websites, apps, and social media |
| Fan interaction | Forums and blogs | Large online communities |
| Access to stats | Limited | Instant and mobile |
The speed of football information shifted from the time it took for fans to receive their morning newspaper or view late evening TV highlights of a previous day’s games. Now updates are made available immediately during a match.
In response to this shift, local sports media also adjusted. Many media outlets began publishing short reports, live blogs, and brief analytical articles concerning games in progress.
Smartphones and the New Match Routine
Mobile phones have transformed how people experience Vietnamese football evenings. Fans may be watching a match on TV, but they will likely be checking statistics on their phone, reading an update on the game via social media or other online sources, and talking with fellow fans about the game, all while it is being televised.
This mobile behavior was developed further by the timing of late evening European games. Due to the time difference between Vietnam and Europe, many English league games are broadcast in Vietnam in the early hours of the morning, sometimes as late as midnight. Many fans are willing to watch these games live. At some point during each of these games, fans are likely to check their phones for updates on the score or quickly read some commentary that has been posted.