As a soccer player at Missouri State I am naturally interested to find out how other cultures perceive the game. Having traveled in a few countries already, I understand that soccer is played pretty much world-wide and many countries are very passionate about it. In looking into some facts about soccer in Vietnam, I found that, firstly, soccer is Vietnam’s most popular sport. As a consequence of this, I hope that I will be able to find some common ground with students and locals in Vietnam as I can try and use soccer as a bit of an “ice-breaker”.
Although the country is very passionate about soccer and I have read that betting on the sport is also very popular (factsanddetails.com), the quality of its national team is not the best. In the FIFA world rankings, Vietnam is currently ranked 44th (The US national team are ranked 29th and England’s national team are ranked 10th) which gives you an idea of how far behind Vietnam are compared to some other national teams. Vietnam club football’s highest league is the V-League, and the V-League Cup has been taking place since 1980. However, lots of reporters agree that the Vietnamese people are actually more interested in keeping up to date with the scores and standings in the European elite leagues.
Like I said, hopefully I will be able to have some fun conversations with the people I meet in Vietnam about soccer, and considering their interest in the European leagues as well as their own national team and national league, I’m sure I will be able to get started quite easily. In business, it is always good to know what the people you are working with may be passionate about and for me, knowing that lots of Vietnamese really enjoy soccer seems ideal.
Mengyao Wang says
When I first got to America, I felt like nobody cares about soccer but football. In China or Asian countries, it is totally the opposite. I didn’t even know what was football. Though Chinese soccer teams are not very good, Chinese people still love it and keep playing it. I hope the passion can help them improve in the long run.