Bắc Ninh vs PVF-CAND: Realizing the V-League Dream

This is considered the most anticipated match after the season ends, where one side is the ambitious representative of the First Division, and the other is a team that has just gone through a turbulent journey in the V-League.

After finishing the 2025-2026 National First Division as runners-up, Bac Ninh earned the right to play the play-off against the team that placed 13th out of 14 teams in the past V-League season.

In the last three years, Bac Ninh has invested a huge budget to build facilities and stadiums to become professional. They even invited Mr. Park Hang-seo to serve as an advisor from their first season in the Second Division (2024).

This play-off match has historical significance, as Bac Ninh has the chance to appear for the first time in Vietnam's highest football league.

Meanwhile, PVF-CAND is a V-League newcomer for the 2025-2026 season, earning a spot in this league by taking over Quang Nam Club's slot when they withdrew. Despite rapid investments to recruit foreign players and former national team members, and changing coaches multiple times, the team struggled and barely managed to stay in the second-to-last position.

Currently leading PVF-CAND is Mr. Tran Tien Dai, an experienced strategist who has guided teams through difficult periods to achieve their goals.

This is the third time PVF-CAND has to play a play-off, but the previous two seasons were slightly different, as they competed for promotion to the V-League against opponents who were already playing in Vietnam's top league, but they lost both times.

The first time was in 2019, when PVF-CAND was still called Pho Hien and playing in the First Division. That year, Pho Hien finished as runners-up in the First Division and earned a play-off spot against Thanh Hoa. In that match, despite possessing many promising young players, they lost 0-1, thus missing out on the V-League.

In the 2024-2025 season, PVF-CAND once again became runners-up in the First Division and entered a play-off against Ha Tinh. They lost that match 1-3, thus missing out on Vietnam's highest football league once more.

In this showdown, PVF-CAND is rated higher than their opponent as they possess many quality young players who have worn national team jerseys, such as Thanh Nhan, Xuan Bac, or Ly Duc. Additionally, a grueling season in the V-League has helped these players accumulate more experience and composure ahead of the most important match of the season.

The play-off match is always special because the result of a single game can decide the future of an entire season. Therefore, VPF Company has appointed a team of Singaporean referees to officiate the match.

The decisive battle between Bac Ninh and PVF-CAND will take place at 6:00 PM on June 12 at Ha Tinh Stadium.