Former National Player Shines in Workers' Football Tournament

Nguyen Viet Phong, a former star of the Vietnamese national football team, has made a notable appearance in the 2026 Vietnam Workers' and Civil Servants Football Tournament. Phong, who represented Vietnam in two matches under coach Park Hang Seo in 2019 and played in the AFC Champions League for Viettel in 2021, has transitioned from a professional career to working at Vietnam Bank.

Phong, born in 1992, developed through the Viettel youth academy and had a professional career until November 2022. After a three-year hiatus, he met the eligibility criteria to join the Workers' and Civil Servants Football Tournament, playing for the Vietnam Bank's Trade Union team. Although registered for the northern regional qualifiers, personal commitments meant his first match was the semi-final on May 24, where he played as a center-back in a 4-0 victory.

His team, Vietnam Bank's Trade Union, is considered a top favorite for the championship. They were runners-up in both the northern qualifiers and the overall finals last season. The addition of Phong, despite his shift to a defensive role in the 7-a-side format, bolsters an already strong squad that includes other amateur football stars.

The tournament, now in its fourth year, is a collaboration between the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, Tuoi Tre newspaper, and the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF). It aims to promote sports and physical fitness among workers and civil servants nationwide, attracting 48 teams from across the country.