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Unlocking the Potential of the Sports Economy in a New Era

Vietnam Sports Economy Summit 2024

Morning of 17 October 2024 · Meliá Hanoi

MilestoneClearing the barriers

200delegates
9speakers
3panel sessions
66news stories
The hall at VSES 2024
The hall at VSES 2024

Overview

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoàng Đạo Cương opened the Summit. Some 200 delegates took on three questions: the legal framework, the economic impact of major sports events and how to earn more from competitions, across 29 contributions. A former Korean Vice Minister and a LaLiga representative took part for the first time.

It followed the Politburo’s Conclusion 70-KL/TW of 31 January 2024 on sport in the new period, and came just after the Prime Minister approved the Strategy for Physical Training and Sports to 2030, with a vision to 2045.

Outcome

It placed the sports economy within Conclusion 70-KL/TW and the sports strategy to 2030, with a vision to 2045. Director General Đặng Hà Việt declared the Summit an annual event.

At a glance

Date and venue
Morning of 17 October 2024, Meliá Hanoi
Under the direction of
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Organisers
Sports Authority of Vietnam · Vietnam Olympic Committee · Vietcontent (initiator)
Organising committee
Chair: Assoc. Prof. Dr Đặng Hà Việt, Director General, Sports Authority of Vietnam. Vice Chairs: Trần Văn Mạnh, Secretary General, Vietnam Olympic Committee; Trần Thùy Chi, Chair and CEO, Vietcontent
Supported by
Webthethao.vn · Audi · VTC · VTVcab
Scale
About 200 delegates · 29 contributions · 20 media outlets and 5 TV channels reporting on the day

Who attended

  • Government Office, Central Propaganda Commission, Central Economic Commission, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of National Defence
  • Provincial departments of culture and sports, the Korean Cultural Center
  • Federations, associations, clubs, event organisers, broadcasters and companies
  • Former sports leaders Vương Bích Thắng (Director General) and Prof. Dr Lâm Quang Thành (Deputy Director General)
Session 3: the commercial value of a competition
Session 3: the commercial value of a competition
Delegates
Delegates

Programme and discussions

Open each part for the key points of the talks and panels.

Opening Opening address and keynote videoRemarks by: Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoàng Đạo Cương

Deputy Minister Hoàng Đạo Cương

  • Conclusion 70-KL/TW calls for a full legal framework for the sports economy: ownership, transfers, rights, sponsorship and private investment.
  • Deputy Minister Hoàng Đạo Cương asked the Sports Authority and advisory bodies to “urgently draw up concrete, practical plans” to act on the Summit’s ideas.

Keynote video

  • Statista put the sports market at about USD 403 billion in 2022, growing 9.13% a year to 2028. Southeast Asia still lags, with Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia ahead.
  • Vietnam’s sports economy has no industry code and no GDP data. Vietnam makes goods for Nike, Adidas and Puma but adds little value; local brands include Động Lực, Delta Sport, Onways and Livan.
  • In 2024 Vietnam had 600+ gyms, a market above USD 600 million and nearly 50,000 community clubs, with 200+ national events a year. Betting, rights, joint ventures and PPP have barely started.
Session 1Building the legal framework for the sports economyModerator: Nguyễn Thị Mỹ Dung, FIFA Disciplinary Committee member, CAS arbitrator, Deputy CEO of PVFSpeakers: Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng · Đặng Hà Việt · Lê Thanh Liêm

Dr Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng, Central Economic Commission

  • The global sports market reached USD 512.14 billion in 2023 and is forecast at USD 623 billion by 2027.
  • Lessons from abroad: build institutions first, grow companies big enough to compete, enforce IP, take the lead on betting, and link sport with tourism, schools and business.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Đặng Hà Việt, Director General, Sports Authority of Vietnam

  • Obstacles: venues stuck on the PPP law (Mỹ Đình, Rạch Chiếc); company prize money is not tax-deductible; federations pay tax on sponsorship; capital requirements for betting are too high.
  • There are about 2,500 events a year; the sector needs to take part in at least 700, but the central budget covers only about 170.
  • Professional sport is the “locomotive” for mass participation and elite sport.

Lê Thanh Liêm, Chief Inspector, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

  • The Sports Law itself works; the problems lie in related laws: the Investment Law does not encourage competition or training services, and the PPP law excludes culture and sport.
  • An inspection of 38 federations found 8 shortcomings, 5 causes and made 7 recommendations. He urged federations to issue professional-sport rules early and refine them later, as the VFF did.

From the floor

  • Lý Đại Nghĩa (HCMC Department of Culture and Sports): treat federations as partners; HCMC has just 0.95 m² of sports land per person against a 2 m² norm, and has tabled 23 PPP projects, 18 of them in sport.
  • Động Lực: the company gave almost VND 100 billion to sport in 2022; many federations cannot issue invoices, exposing sponsors to tax claims; it asked for lower VAT on sport.

Session takeaways

  • Federations are in fact able to issue invoices and sign service contracts. Two priorities: create revenue for sport, and train the people who manage and deliver it.

“Developing professional sport is developing the sports economy.”

Lê Thanh Liêm, Chief Inspector, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Session 2The economic impact of major sports events on host cities and organisersModerator: Trịnh Long Vũ, Head of Multimedia TV, Vietnam TelevisionSpeakers: Oh Yeong-woo · Đỗ Đình Hồng · Bạch Ngọc Chiến

Oh Yeong-woo, former Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Korea

  • Korea bid for the Olympics in 1979, when its income per head was similar to Vietnam’s today. Seoul 1988 brought an economic return of about USD 7.4 billion; the 2002 World Cup about USD 6.6 billion.
  • After 2002 the share of foreigners who knew Korea well rose from 43% to 74%, paving the way for the Korean Wave.
  • What hosting takes: commitment at national and local level, the right legal tools, ten years or more of preparation and stable funding; Korea spends about USD 2 billion a year on sport, almost all from sports lotteries.

Đỗ Đình Hồng, Director, Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports

  • The sports-economy trio: product, market and the services that connect them.
  • The Capital Law frees Hanoi’s cultural and sports venues from the PPP and public-asset laws; the city plans a 500–700 ha sports zone in the south to prepare a possible Asian Games bid.

Bạch Ngọc Chiến, Vice President, Vietnam Vovinam Federation

  • Nam Định built on its culture, sport and food to host events; the renovated Thiên Trường Stadium brought direct and indirect gains.
  • To reach the Olympics, Vovinam needs global reach, strong governance, financial independence and youth appeal. The state should commission federations to deliver programmes.

Session takeaways

  • Vietnam should seriously consider co-hosting the World Cup with Southeast Asian neighbours in 2034 or 2038. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

“Sometimes you have to take a risk and invest, using events like these to build momentum for the national economy.”

Oh Yeong-woo

“I joined Vovinam not because I am good at martial arts, but because I thought Vovinam could make money.”

Bạch Ngọc Chiến
Session 3Earning from a competition: commercial value and wider benefitsModerator: Nguyễn Quốc Hưng, Project Director, VietcontentSpeakers: Trần Anh Tú · Pablo Casaos Llorens · Phạm Thanh Phương

Trần Anh Tú, Vice President, VFF; Chairman, VPF

  • V-League rights were once swapped for production costs; since 2023 they fetch about USD 2 million a season, “tiny next to LaLiga, but a real breakthrough”.
  • Rights value is protected by better pitches, FIFA-licensed VAR (6 of 7 games a round), a new anthem and trophy. Next: a consistent identity and making fans “hungry” for the league between seasons.

Pablo Casaos Llorens, LaLiga representative in Vietnam

  • LaLiga revenue: media rights 85% (once about 90%), sponsorship about 10%, other about 5%. Piracy costs the league and clubs USD 600–700 million a year.
  • New revenue: a business school, LaLiga Tech, academies and consulting, food and beverage. Three pillars: product quality and young fans, financial control of clubs, youth development.

Phạm Thanh Phương, Director, TV360

  • Three tests for rights: brand and production quality (VAR, 4K); audience size and subscriber conversion; no free streaming on social media. Euro 2024 reached about 30 million viewers in Vietnam, some 13 million on TV360.
  • Outside football, events need proper standards, production and data; organisers “must own the game” when setting prices.

Session takeaways

  • Diversify revenue; build products for new audiences, especially Gen Z; grow fan communities; use the latecomer’s advantage and learn from Korea, Japan and LaLiga.

“Clubs are the foundation of a league, but players are the foundation of clubs: the foundation of the foundation.”

Pablo Casaos Llorens, LaLiga

“Once you know what your competition is worth, only the buyer can get it wrong, never the seller.”

Phạm Thanh Phương, TV360
ClosingClosing addressRemarks by: Assoc. Prof. Dr Đặng Hà Việt, Director General, Sports Authority of Vietnam

Assoc. Prof. Dr Đặng Hà Việt, Chair of the organising committee

  • The Summit was confirmed as “an annual event”.
  • The sports strategy to 2030, with a vision to 2045, commits to “an enabling environment for the sports economy”, with eight tasks; the first is to revise policy and design industry codes for the sports economy.
  • The three sessions and 29 contributions will inform policy, with financial independence for federations as the goal.

Speakers 9

Titles as at the time of the Summit.

Notable quotes

Taken from the livestream and lightly edited. Vietnamese remarks are translated.

“Developing professional sport is developing the sports economy.”

Lê Thanh Liêm, Chief Inspector, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

“When the V-League ends, people should miss it; they should feel hungry for it.”

Trần Anh Tú, Vice President, VFF

“Sometimes you have to take a risk and invest, using events like these to build momentum for the national economy.”

Oh Yeong-woo, former Vice Minister, Korea

“We used to see sports federations as an extension of ourselves; now we must treat them as equals, as partners.”

Lý Đại Nghĩa, HCMC Department of Culture and Sports

Figures cited

Figures as cited by speakers at the Summit; they are not official statistics.

IndicatorValueCited by
V-League media rightsAbout USD 2 million a season (since 2023)Trần Anh Tú
Media rights share of LaLiga revenue85% (once about 90%)Pablo Casaos
LaLiga’s losses to piracyUSD 600–700 million a yearPablo Casaos
Events the sector needs to take part in / funded by the central budget700 / 170 a yearĐặng Hà Việt
Global sports marketUSD 512.14 bn (2023) → USD 623 bn (2027)Dr Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng
Euro 2024 viewers in VietnamAbout 30 million; about 13 million on TV360Phạm Thanh Phương
Economic return, Seoul 1988 / World Cup 2002USD 7.4 bn / USD 6.6 bnOh Yeong-woo
Sports land per person in HCMC0.95 m² (norm: 2 m²)Lý Đại Nghĩa
Share of people exercising regularly29.53% of the populationLê Thanh Liêm

Conclusions

Photos

Media coverage

66news stories
  • 9TV news reports
  • 43online articles from 33 outlets
  • 14Webthethao.vn articles and posts

Notable headlines

In the news

See the full list (66 items)

Headlines translated from the original; most articles are in Vietnamese.

Television 9

  1. VTV1Sports 24/7, 19:40
  2. VTV2360° Sport, 22:40
  3. Vietnam News Agency Television – VNewsPlanet Sport, 20:30
  4. VTC1Evening bulletin, 19:30
  5. VTVcab – On SportsWorld of Sport bulletin, 20:00
  6. VTVcab – On FootballWorld of Sport bulletin, 20:00
  7. Hanoi TelevisionNews bulletin, 18:30
  8. Ho Chi Minh City Television365 bulletin, 20:30
  9. YouTube – Ho Chi Minh City TelevisionSports Economy Summit 2024 | Sport 365 | HTV Sports

Online news 43

  1. Vietnam Economic Times (VnEconomy)Vietnam New Economy Forum 2024 coming soon
  2. Institute of Sports Science200 delegates attend the Vietnam Sports Economy Summit 2024
  3. Sài Gòn Giải PhóngVietnam Sports Economy Summit 2024 returns
  4. Nông nghiệp Việt NamThe second Vietnam Sports Economy Summit
  5. Thể thao & Văn hóaThe pickleball craze and the sports economy
  6. Tổ QuốcVietnam Sports Economy Summit 2024: Stepping up the management and development of the sports economy in Vietnam
  7. Kinh tế & Đô thịVietnam Sports Economy Summit 2024 to be held on 17 October
  8. Sài Gòn Giải PhóngVietnam Sports Economy Summit 2024: Opportunities and challenges
  9. Thể thao Việt Nam PlusSports Economy Summit 2024 aims for the sustainable development of the nation’s sport
  10. Tổ QuốcSports Economy Summit 2024: Sharing valuable experience to drive the sports economy
  11. Lao ĐộngFor a breakthrough in Vietnam’s sports economy
  12. Vietnam News AgencyVietnam Sports Economy Summit 2024: Unlocking the potential of the sports economy in a new era
  13. Tin tứcUnlocking the potential of the sports economy in a new era
  14. Tri thức magazine (Znews)Seeking solutions for the sports economy to grow
  15. VietnamPlusHow to unlock the potential of the sports economy in a new era?
  16. Hà Nội MớiSeeking solutions for sports economy growth
  17. Tiền PhongVietnam Olympic Committee “struggling”, many federations yet to generate revenue or send athletes to compete abroad
  18. Ministry of Culture, Sports and TourismVietnam Sports Economy Summit 2024: Stepping up the management and development of the sports economy in Vietnam
  19. Thể thao Việt Nam PlusUnlocking the potential of the sports economy in a new era
  20. Lao ĐộngThe sports economy needs to be put into practice
  21. Lạng Sơn NewspaperLê Thanh Liêm, Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, says sport and fitness businesses keep growing and contributing more to…
  22. SohaVietnam Olympic Committee “struggling”, many federations yet to generate revenue or send athletes to compete abroad
  23. Tuổi TrẻTV rights to Vietnam’s professional football league priced at VND 50 billion a year
  24. Văn hóaSeeking solutions for the sports economy to grow
  25. Dân tríVietnamese football TV rights bring in nearly VND 5 billion a year
  26. Thể thao & Văn hóaVietnam Sports Economy Summit 2024 has a new theme
  27. VOV2Unlocking the potential of the sports economy in a new era
  28. Lao ĐộngIs it worth the risk to invest in international-scale sports events?
  29. Vietnam Olympic Committee website200 delegates attend the Vietnam Sports Economy Summit 2024
  30. VTC NewsVFF Vice President: “V.League players waste far too much time”
  31. Tiền PhongVietnam Olympic Committee “struggling”, many federations yet to generate revenue or send athletes to compete abroad
  32. Sports Authority of Vietnam websiteVietnam Sports Economy Summit 2024 opens
  33. Sài Gòn Giải PhóngVietnam Sports Economy Summit 2024 hears a wide range of views
  34. Communist Party of Vietnam Online NewspaperDriving professional, modern and sustainable Vietnamese sport
  35. Bóng đá magazineWhat solutions will grow the sports economy?
  36. VietNamNetSports Economy Summit 2024: Professionalising Vietnamese sport
  37. Thể thao Việt Nam PlusMobilising economic resources from sporting activities in Vietnam
  38. Giao thôngHow to unlock the potential of the sports economy in a new era?
  39. Thanh NiênPromoting the nation’s image through sport: What can Vietnam learn from South Korea?
  40. Kinh tế & Đô thịSeeking ways to tap the “gold mine” of the sports economy
  41. 24h.com.vnV-League TV rights: from “given away for free” to VND 50 billion a season
  42. Vietnam Investment ReviewVietnam Sports Economy Summit looks at the sector’s development
  43. Viet Nam NewsExperts promote national sport economics

Webthethao.vn 8

  1. Webthethao.vnSports Economy Summit 2024: Continuing the journey of discovery
  2. Webthethao.vnHow did the Vietnam Sports Economy Summit 2023 answer questions about development?
  3. Webthethao.vnSports Economy Summit 2023: South Korea’s experience
  4. Webthethao.vnSports Economy Summit 2024: Why have V.League TV rights risen 25-fold?
  5. Webthethao.vnSports Economy Summit 2024: The special benefits of hosting major sports events, from a South Korean perspective
  6. Webthethao.vnVietnam Sports Economy Summit 2024 on the theme “Unlocking the Potential of the Sports Economy in a New Era”
  7. Webthethao.vnSports Economy Summit 2024: When local and national economies both benefit from major events
  8. Webthethao.vnVietnam Sports Economy Summit 2024: Developing professional sport is developing the sports economy

Webthethao.vn social posts 6

  1. Fanpage WebthethaoLooking back at the 2023 Summit, organised by the General Department of Sports and Physical Training, the Central Economic Commission, the Vietnam Olympic Committee and Vietcontent
  2. Fanpage WebthethaoBuilding on the first edition in 2023, introducing the 2024 Summit
  3. Fanpage WebthethaoPanel 1: Creating a legal environment for developing the sports economy. Starts at 08:25 (17 October)
  4. Fanpage WebthethaoPanel 2: The economic impact of hosting major sports events on host localities and organisations
  5. Fanpage WebthethaoPanel 3: Capturing the commercial value and benefits around a sports competition
  6. Fanpage WebthethaoAt the 2024 Summit at the Meliá Hanoi, VFF Vice President and VPF Chairman Trần Anh Tú said…

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