Salutary lessons from 2018 AFC U23 Championship

By Nguyen Van My* - Jan 30, 2018 | 08:35 AM GMT+7

TheLEADERThe 2018 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Championship has ended with valuable lessons for the organizers, teams, players, and spectators.

Salutary lessons from 2018 AFC U23 Championship
U23 Vietnam cheered Quang Hai's winning goal in the final.

Despite the last-minute defeat to Uzbekistan in the 2018 AFC U23 Championship, U23 Vietnam members have won the hearts of millions of Vietnamese fans around the world. Never have they all enjoyed such genuine pleasure.

Lessons for management from football

After the final defeat, South Korean coach Park Hangseo apologized to the fans. However, we should thank him and the players for having inspired the Vietnamese people, especially small and medium enterprise leaders, with loads of lessons for management.

Coach Park Hangseo

Coach Park Hangseo is familiar with Asian football, who understands the psychology of the players and can ignite the motivation among them with the help of his assistants. It is the trust and the desire that was placed at the right place, in the right people, and with the necessary humility. Dreams hardly cost us anything, but we must know our strength, make enough preparation for our dreams and dare to surpass ourselves.

The coach has the decisive role as the highest commander of the match. With great psychological therapy, he blew confidence and aspirations to each player.

In each game, the team had a unique strategy. Every player believes in himself, in teammates, in coaches, and in fans. Only unshakable faith and modesty can make a new record.

We should never despise the opponents. Every opportunity is unique, so try to maximize them. Faith and unity will help us with the last.

Team U23 Vietnam has brought an exciting spring to the country. If managers manage to work like Park Hangseo, if each Vietnamese, depending on their position, can work as a U23 player, Vietnam’s economy will surely take off.


Poor organization and revenue

The tournament is professional with surprising twists from the beginning to the end. However, the organization was filled with shortcomings.

U23 Uzbekistan players were almost invisible in the snow.

The first is having chosen the unsuitable venue. The pitch is too dangerous due to the elements; players must play in freezing cold. In the final, as the pitch was completely covered in snow, the game had to be stopped several times. The improper venue discouraged the fans and restricted the technical performance of both teams. Perhaps this is the strangest match in a continental tournament.

It is also hard to understand the reason why a regional league was welcomed with such empty arenas.

The TV lens had tried to shoot close-up the supporters, but they were still unable to cover the empty stands. The audience only accounts for a few hundred seats each match; most are fans of the two teams. Referee selection also showed a lot of problems.

Is having chosen China to host the league AFC’s mistake? Tickets are an important source of revenue for tournaments. The number of spectators is a measure of the success of the tournament, which is a precondition for sponsorships in the future. It can be said that this tournament is a failure regarding organization and revenue of the AFC.

Making a record is difficult. Keeping and continuing to develop it to new heights is even more demanding.

(*) The article reflects the opinion of Nguyen Van My, Chairman of Lua Viet Tours