Thong Nhat Stadium is one of the important venues for the 2026 National Sports Festival - Photo: NGUYEN KHOI
On July 31, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism officially approved the project to organize the 2026 National Sports Festival in Ho Chi Minh City. Tuoi Tre had an interview with the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City sports industry about this important event.
Mr. Nguyen Nam Nhan - Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports
* Sir, after 20 years, the National Sports Festival returns to Ho Chi Minh City. What does this mean for sports in the city as well as the Southern region?
- The National Sports Festival returning to Ho Chi Minh City after 20 years has a very special meaning. This is an important milestone to introduce to the whole country and international friends a new Ho Chi Minh City - more expanded after the merger, more modern with reforms in administration, infrastructure, especially sports.
The congress is not only a simple sports event, but also an opportunity to verify the effectiveness of new sports training models, especially the application of science - technology and artificial intelligence in athlete training that Ho Chi Minh City is strongly implementing.
We see this as an opportunity to form a comprehensive, modern sports development model, harmonizing movement and high performance - in line with the spirit of a pioneering city in the new era. At the same time, the congress is also an opportunity to connect and promote sports resilience for the entire Southern economic region.
* What are the notable points of the 10th Congress compared to previous congresses?
- The biggest difference is that for the first time, a locality - specifically Ho Chi Minh City - was assigned to draft the congress organization plan from the beginning. This demonstrates the city's trust and great responsibility in shaping the content, scale and strategic direction of the congress.
Ho Chi Minh City proposed to increase the proportion of Olympic and Asian Games in the competition program of the 2026 National Sports Festival - that is a clear direction on key investment for high-performance sports of international stature.
At the same time, we still ensure harmony when including traditional and national sports - sports closely associated with cultural identity and mass movements. The consistent viewpoint of Ho Chi Minh City is "for Vietnamese sports, together with the development of Vietnamese sports".
Taekwondo is a strong sport in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: NGUYEN KHOI
* Organizing the congress with 47 expected sports, from Olympic, Asian Games, SEA Games to traditional and emerging sports such as: pickleball, shuttlecock, stick pushing, tug of war... What are the difficulties in organizing the congress?
- The big challenge comes from ensuring professional human resources, referees and the organizational system. Especially for emerging sports like pickleball - although the movement is growing rapidly, there is no national federation, so the system of standards and supervision is still fragmented.
Regarding traditional sports such as stick pushing and tug of war, we have previously proposed to organize them separately as a national cultural and sports festival. However, after many discussions, experts agreed that they should be included in the congress to enrich the competition content and honor the diversity of Vietnam's cultural and sports.
Arranging competition venues and organizing fair, consistent and standardized events for all sports is a big challenge, but Ho Chi Minh City has prepared plans and resources to ensure successful organization.
* What has Ho Chi Minh City done in the past to prepare for the congress?
- Since 2023, Ho Chi Minh City has established a specialized team to develop a project to organize the congress. We have conducted many surveys and evaluated the quality of facilities throughout the area and neighboring provinces. The city's leadership's viewpoint when directing is "with the whole country". Therefore, when implementing, "the city does not do it alone" but it is an opportunity to promote regional strength and spread the value of the organization.
From the beginning of 2025, a series of city-level sports facilities and facilities have been repaired, upgraded or renovated. At the same time, Ho Chi Minh City has deployed professional training courses, event management, and digital management. Communication has been provided to all forces to ensure that each department is ready when the congress takes place.
* The sports infrastructure of Ho Chi Minh City has recently been assessed as lacking, degraded, and unable to meet the development of the city's sports as well as the scale of the most modern city in Vietnam. Will hosting the 10th Congress help Ho Chi Minh City's sports have the opportunity to repair, renovate, and build new sports facilities, partly filling the infrastructure gap?
- Ho Chi Minh City's sports infrastructure has recently been assessed as lacking and degraded. However, we would like to affirm that Ho Chi Minh City will not take advantage of the congress to build new facilities. The main goal is only to repair and renew the existing infrastructure to serve the congress in real conditions. However, the merger of administrative boundaries with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau also brings more favorable conditions in terms of space and organizational facilities.
As for the long-term need for sports infrastructure, Ho Chi Minh City has established a medium- and long-term strategy through targeted public investment and a public-private partnership (PPP) model. Our perspective is sustainable development, not a one-off "catch-all" approach to one Games, but rather creating sports facilities that will serve sports and the community for decades.
Nguyen Van Khanh Phong - Talented athlete of Vietnamese gymnastics from Ho Chi Minh City unit - Photo: HUY DANG
* At the 9th Congress of 2022, Ho Chi Minh City sports ranked second in the country with 128 gold medals, after Hanoi. How is the city's sports preparing its athletes to compete at the congress at home? Does Ho Chi Minh City have ambitions to take the No. 1 position from Hanoi, after merging with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau?
- We are well aware that hosting the tournament at home is both a pressure and an opportunity. Mechanically, after merging with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City has greater potential to compete for the top spot. But our main goal is not simply the number of medals.
Ho Chi Minh City has set a target: in key sports of groups I, II, III - the athletes must ensure that they reach the national top rate of at least 70%. This is the basis for us and the country to plan, train and develop a top athlete force towards the continental and Olympic arenas. That is the strategic vision of Ho Chi Minh City.
* Illegal buying and selling of athletes and negative competition practices are common occurrences at national sports events. How will the 10th Congress Organizing Committee (HCMC, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) coordinate to prevent these issues from occurring at the 2026 Congress?
- Negative practices such as illegal buying and selling, or medal exchanges have actually existed through many congresses. However, the current legal regulations regarding the time for athletes to change units are clear. Athletes must have trained and competed for a sufficient period of time according to the contract to be considered athletes of the new unit.
Regarding professional work, tournament management (especially refereeing) - this is the authority of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and national professional federations. For its part, Ho Chi Minh City will proactively propose the application of supporting technology such as VAR, recording systems, and public livestreaming to make everything transparent, fair and minimize negativity.
Aerobics is a strong sport of Ho Chi Minh City sports, contributing a lot to the achievements of Vietnam Sports Association - Photo: NGUYEN KHOI
The National Sports Festival is the most important event of Vietnamese sports, taking place every 4 years. The festival aims to review the investment and development cycle, and provide orientation for future sports. The festival is also a place to discover new talents for Vietnamese sports.
The 10th National Sports Festival will take place around November 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City. According to the organization plan, the festival is expected to feature 47 events, including Olympic, Asian Games, SEA Games and national sports. At the 9th National Sports Festival in 2022, Hanoi topped the overall rankings with 175 gold medals, while Ho Chi Minh City ranked second with 128 gold medals.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dai-hoi-the-thao-toan-quoc-2026-se-tao-suc-bat-cho-the-thao-tp-hcm-20250803084343358.htm
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