according to the chairman of the Vietnam Professional Football Joint-stock Company (VPF), Tran Anh Tu.

HCM City train to prepare for the resumption of the V.League 1 this weekend. Photo vtv.vn

Tu said the plan to resume the season this weekend was agreed on by all 14 clubs in the league.

Regarding allowing spectators into stadiums, Hai Phong FC and Quang Ninh Coal have to wait for local government decisions, while SHB Da Nang will have a limited number of fans in attendance. For the rest of the localities, stadiums will be open for some spectators, with the number allowed in depending on regulations in each locality.

“The next match between SHB Da Nang and Hai Phong will not sell tickets. However, the Hoa Xuan Stadium in Da Nang will welcome about 200 fans in the form of invitation tickets to cheer for the home team. These are all members officially registered in the list of the Da Nang Fans Association,” said President of SHB Da Nang Bui Xuan Hoa.

The chairman of Quang Nam FC, Nguyen Hup, said the provincial People's Committee agreed to let the Tam Ky Stadium host 4,000 spectators to watch the match between Quang Nam and defending champions Hanoi.

Quang Nam and Da Nang were two localities greatly affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in late July. After both localities got the pandemic under control, the two clubs started training again, and both sides have played friendlies to prepare for the resumption of league play.

Earlier, the leaders of these two clubs were part of the group of teams that wanted the V.League 1 season to end early and award the championship to table-toppers Sai Gon FC.

Currently, Quang Nam are bottom of the table with eight points after 11 matches, two points behind Hai Phong.

Each team only has two more fixtures in the first half of the season before the league is split into the top eight teams to vie for the title and the bottom six to avoid relegation.

The National Cup final on Sunday between Hanoi FC and Viettel was the first domestic tournament to finish since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

The Hang Day Stadium was allowed to open to welcome a limited number of fans, who watched Hanoi defend their crown with a 2-1 win.

Before that, the match between HCM City FC and Ba Ria Vung Tau FC in the quarter-finals also opened to fans.  VNS

V.League 1 teams ready for restart

Many teams in V.League 1 have returned to training after a week-long break due to the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic.