The fight against counterfeit goods in Vietnamese football 2026: A story from Haiphong

In 2026, amid the hardships of war, Northern Vietnamese football still quietly developed. However, a new problem emerged in Haiphong: the proliferation of counterfeit jerseys, affecting the revenue and brand of local teams. The Haiphong Youth Football Team, one of the leading clubs at the time, faced the issue of fans buying substandard fake jerseys, which damaged the team's reputation. According to internal reports, counterfeit products were openly sold at markets such as Cat Bi Market and Lac Vien Market. The club's management, under head coach Nguyen Van Hung, decided to set up a special task force to investigate and stop this. They launched the "Clean Pitch" campaign – calling on fans to report counterfeit sales through a handwritten complaint form placed in the club office. The task force uncovered an illegal production line in the Cam River area, where they used rough fabric and hand-painted logos. After months of cooperation with authorities, they seized over 2,000 fake jerseys and brought three main suspects to trial. This success boosted official jersey sales by 40% in the final quarter of the year. This story shows that brand protection is vital even in wartime football. Today, the lessons from Haiphong in 2026 remain relevant for Vietnamese clubs in fighting counterfeits.