Football diplomacy: banned by FIFA, Russia vie for $10,000 in Vietnam

In front of a sparse crowd in Hanoi, Vietnam face Russia — a team barred from major international football tournaments after Moscow invaded Ukraine.

Three months after Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to Vietnam — a close ally of Moscow since the Cold War — about 6,000 spectators watched the visitors comfortably win 3-0 on Thursday.

Among the rows of empty seats at the 40,000-capacity My Dinh national stadium was Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and a handful of Russian fans.

A giant Vietnamese flag was draped across the stands where spectators would normally sit and the friendly was broadcast live on local television.

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the national side were barred from the World Cup in Qatar.

They did not participate in the European Championships held in Germany this summer and are not involved in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

However, the Russian squad is still finding some opponents to play friendlies with on the international stage, usually close political allies.

They beat Serbia 4-0 in March and then defeated Belarus by the same scoreline in Minsk in June.

They were to play two matches in Hanoi, the other against Thailand on Saturday, in a mini tournament sponsored by a Vietnamese bank and with the winning team taking home $10,000.

“Officials in Moscow appear to be using such meetings to build legitimacy and influence around the world,” Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and the geopolitical economy, told AFP.

“These matches could be acts of diplomacy rather than merely being games of football,” he added.

For Vietnam, ranked 115 in the world and already out of World Cup qualifying, it’s unusual to play against a team of Russia’s calibre.

The travelling Russia squad