Hanoi International Football League

🔴 LIVE: ROOTS vs DRINK TEAM ⏰ 14h00 29/08/2026 🏟 XUAN LA STADIUM 🏆 HIFL PROMOTION PLAYOFF

🔴 LIVE: CAPITALS vs HANOI BULLS ⏰ 12h00 29/08/2026 🏟 XUAN LA STADIUM 🏆 HIFL SHIELD 2026-2027

Here we go VIFL 2026! This is the third edition of the tournament and it is the biggest and primest number of teams to date (to the bane of tournament schedule makers). This year's tournament is in Da Nang and it will a great opportunity to really test the home advantage in this tournament, a tournament where so far only home teams have placed in the top 3. Da Nang's league has only really got going this year and so it would be a great achievement for either Da Nang United or Inter Da Nang to take home the spoils but their opponents above and below won't let that happen so easily. Sporting and Caps each have a VIFL title under their belt, Saints just narrowly missed out on the win in 25, Minsk will be looking to improve on a third place finish last year, and Harps will be looking to make their mark on their first time in the tournament. If you're up for a beach holiday then come down and watch next weekend (5th Sept) or if that is a very large commitment just to watch amateur football, then I guess you could also just check out the livestream.

The new season is here and as is a tradition, we'll be kicking things off with the HIFL shield game, this year between Capitals and Bulls. It is a recent tradition, only 3 or 4 years old, but it is a tradition none the less.

However, as is additionally a tradition (one that we lament), teams come and go and ask not to be promoted and such leading to a playoff game to determine who actually gets to play in division 1 for the upcoming season and it's a choice between two long-standing clubs in this league. If Drink go down, it'll be the first time in the entire league's history without Drink team in the top flight while Roots are looking to rejoin the top flight after a big season of rebuilding.

We're just a month out from the 26th season of the HIFL. Like last year, things kick off with the HIFL shield at the end of the month as well as the D1 Promotion Playoff to determine who gets to join the big dogs of division 1. September starts with the VIFL down in Da Nang this year to determine which of the top teams from Hanoi, Saigon, or Da Nang will be crowned champions of Vietnam while teams that didn't qualify get to battle it out in the VIC and finally on September 12th, both our HIFL divisions will get started. See you on the pitch!

The Champions League has the Europa League and now the VIFL has the VIC.

8 teams from Hanoi, Saigon, and Da Nang will be battling it out to determine who will be the champions of Vietnam at the third official VIFL but that does not mean that there will be no spoils for everyone else. We are inviting teams from Hanoi, Saigon, Da Nang, or anywhere else in the country to participate in the inaugural edition of the VIC to not only earn the prestige that comes with winning such a competition but also to earn automatic qualification into the VIFL 2027.

If you have a team and are interested in participating, drop us a message on Facebook or Instagram to discuss registration.

The D1 title was another close race in the end but one team were, right up until their final game, raking in the points in their fight for the title.

Every season we see different teams bringing different things to this competition, songs, craic, and a love of the game, but every now and then you get a team that shows up in ways that really pay off over the course of a season.

In that respect, Hanoi Xide led the way this year, and their players earned it across every minute on the pitch.

And lastly to the most coveted of HIFL awards. If there's two things that really make this league tick, it's great clubs and sexy kits.

The fact of the matter is if you're gonna spend 90 minutes running around chasing your marker in the Hanoian hit, you might as well have a nice view while doing it and the Barefoot Rangers were happy to oblige with a very sexy kit indeed.

But it's not just the views we play football for, we also play it for the craic, for a way to take the edge off on a Saturday after a long week at work and this year it's Harps who provided. Who would have thought that a team that was "relegated" last year would step up their game and finish third, earning a VIFL spot.

Of course, part of being club of the year is also bringing the vibes every Saturday and they've never had a shortage of that no matter their finishing position although maybe we'd request they tone down the vibes just a little bit for next year's awards lest we get banned from every establishment in Tay Ho.